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THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 


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THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK   •    BOSTON   •    CHICAGO  -    DALLAS 
ATLANTA   •    SAN    FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •  BOMBAY  •  CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


Al  (.1   M  IN     1)A1.\ 


THE    LIFE 


OF 


AUGUSTIN     DALY 


BY 
JOSEPH    FRANCIS    DALY 


Neto  gorfe 

THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

1917 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1917, 
By   the   MACMILLAN   COMPANY. 

Published  September,  1917. 


J.  S.  Cushinj;  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Muss.,  U.S.A. 


TO  ALL  LOVERS   OF  THE   STAGE 

AND   ITS  TRADITIONS 

THIS   BOOK   IS   DEDICATED 


PREFACE 

No  apology  is  needed  for  giving  an  account  of  the  man  who 
lifted  the  American  stage  from  a  very  low  estate  to  a 
position  of  great  dignity,  and  gave  the  dramatic  art  of  his 
own  country  a  first  place  in  two  continents ;  and  who  did 
all  his  life  work  with  such  courage  in  the  face  of  obstacles 
and  such  steadfastness  in  pursuit  of  a  single  purpose,  that 
the  history  of  his  career  must  give  heart  to  every  self- 
reliant,  intelligent  striver  in  every  business  of  life. 


FOREWORD 

When  Joseph  Francis  Daly  died  in  August,  1916,  he  left 
complete  the  manuscript  of  this  book,  on  which  he  had  been 
working  for  years.  The  fact  that  he  did  not  live  to  revise 
the  proofs  may  have  resulted  in  errors,  although  great 
pains  have  been  taken  to  avoid  them,  and  it  is  believed 
that  they  will  be  few  and  unimportant.  The  photographs 
used  as  illustrations  were  in  almost  every  case  set  aside 
by  the  author  for  the  purpose  ;  his  own  portrait  is,  of  course, 
an  exception,  having  been  inserted  as  part  of  a  record  that 
includes  many  phases  of  his  own  as  well  as  of  his  brother's 
life. 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Augustin  Daly Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

Augustin  Daly,  from  a  Daguerreotype  (about  1854) 19 

Fanny  Davenport 90 

Agnes  Ethel 99 

Clara  Morris no 

The  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  (the  Day  after  the  Fire)        ....  116 

Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert 186 

Augustin  Daly  in  1875 207 

Reading  the  Play  (1882) 357 

Ada  Rehan  (1883) 364 

Augustin  Daly 387 

John  Drew 428 

Augustin  Daly 528 

James  Lewis 598 

Augustin  Daly  in  1898 618 

Joseph  Francis  Daly 637 


FIRST    PERIOD:     1838-1869 


THE    LIFE    OF 
AUGUSTIN    DALY 


CHAPTER  I 

Family  Romance.  A  young  Kerry  girl  and  her  lover.  Separation. 
Elopement.  Married  into  the  army.  A  widow  with  one  child 
captured  by  the  French.  The  child  saved  from  the  sea.  Kindness 
of  the  French.  Arrival  at  Jamaica.  The  buried  city  of  Port 
Royal.  Montego  Bay.  The  lovers  reunited.  Their  daughter 
Elizabeth.  Life  in  the  West  Indies.  An  adventurous  young 
Quaker.  Travelling  theatricals.  John  Bernard  and  William 
Rufus  Blake.  Negro  insurrection.  Punishment  of  slaves.  Eliza- 
beth's intercession.  Social  traits.  Emigration  to  the  United 
States.  Efforts  to  embark.  Twice  retarded.  Arrival  of  Captain 
Daly.  To  New  York  in  his  vessel.  Marriage  of  Elizabeth.  Denis 
Daly's  family  and  character.  Settles  in  Plymouth,  North  Carolina. 
Augustin  Daly  born.  The  last  voyage.  Hurried  journey.  The 
sailor's  grave.  His  estate  in  North  Carolina  "administered"  to 
death.  Removal  to  Norfolk,  Virginia.  The  boys  see  their  first 
play.  Murdock  and  Miss  Russell,  afterwards  Mrs.  Hoey.  Dick 
Turpin  surpasses  Macbeth.     Removal  to  New  York. 

Whether  Augustin  Daly's  gift  for  the  dramatic  art  was 
inherited  can  never  be  known.  There  was  a  Richard 
Daly,  a  Dublin  manager  noted  for  his  skill  in  discovering 
and  training  talent  for  the  stage ;  and  there  was  a  John 
Daly,  a  dramatist  of  Dublin,  one  or  two  of  whose  works 
survive ;  but  no  connection  with  these  individuals  can  be 
traced.  Augustin  Daly's  father  was  a  sailor,  one  grand- 
father a  soldier,  and  the  other  a  farmer. 

A  young  Kerry  girl,  Margaret  Moriarty,  born  in  178 1 
of  a  well-known  family  of  Tralee,  fell  in  love  at  the  age 

3 


4  THE   LIFE  OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

of  sixteen  with  John  Duffey  of  Carlow,  older  than  herself 
by  several  years  and  destined,  it  is  said,  by  his  family  for 
the  Church.  They  were  separated  ;  and  in  girlish  despera- 
tion Margaret  ran  away,  married  into  the  army,  and  was 
left  a  young  widow  with  one  child,  in  Gibraltar.  Sailing 
for  home,  they  were  captured  by  the  French  in  the  Bay  of 
Biscay.  In  transferring  the  prisoners  from  their  vessel  to 
one  of  the  French  fleet  the  little  daughter  Catherine  fell 
into  the  sea,  but  was  rescued  by  a  sailor  and  taken  to  an- 
other vessel.  The  French  (who,  my  grandmother  was 
particular  to  say,  were  uniformly  kind  in  the  treatment 
of  their  prisoners)  exerted  themselves  to  trace  the  lost 
child  and  restore  it  to  its  mother.  An  exchange  of  pris- 
oners that  afterwards  took  place  brought  the  young  widow 
and  the  family  of  General  Darby  together,  and  she  was 
taken  to  Jamaica,  the  principal  island  of  the  British  West 
Indies. 

They  landed  at  Port  Royal  or  Kingston  and  crossed  over 
the  mountains  to  Falmouth  and  Montego  Bay  on  the 
north  coast,  a  part  singularly  free  from  the  visitations  of 
earthquake  which  have  caused  such  destruction  in  and 
about  Kingston.  At  the  time  Margaret  entered  that 
harbor,  over  a  hundred  years  ago,  she  could  discern  be- 
neath its  waters  the  houses  of  old  Port  Royal  which  had 
been  overwhelmed  by  a  former  convulsion. 

The  first  Sunday  after  her  arrival  in  Montego  Bay  Mar- 
garet went  to  church  followed  by  a  negro  lad,  bearing,  as 
was  customary,  her  kneeling  cushion.  She  had  to  slip  oflF 
her  shoe,  which  was  naturally  a  size  smaller  than  it  ought 
to  be.  This  shoe  she  carefully  concealed  by  a  fold  of  her 
dress  ;  but  when  she  was  about  to  rise  from  her  knees,  it 
had  disappeared.  A  glance  behind  showed  the  solitary 
but  conspicuous  figure  of  an  officer  in  uniform  who  was 
also  devoutly  kneeling,  but  guarding  the  little  shoe,  which 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  5 

he  had  managed  to  abstract  with  his  cane.  Filled  with 
indignation,  the  lady's  flashing  eyes  looked  the  audacious 
culprit  full  in  the  face  and  recognized  the  lover  of  her  girl- 
hood !  They  walked  homeward  together  and  exchanged 
the  stories  of  their  long  separation.  He  was  a  widower 
and  had  with  him  two  little  girls  younger  than  her  daughter 
Catherine.  His  wife  had  been  a  Quakeress  and  had  borne 
him  a  large  family,  of  whom  Sarah,  born  in  Guernsey,  and 
Mary  Ann,  born  in  Cavan,  survived. 

The  marriage  of  the  long-separated  lovers  took  place 
in  Montego  Bay  in  June,  181 1.  Their  happiness  was  to 
be  short-lived,  however,  and  Margaret  was  soon  to  be 
widowed  once  more,  and  this  time  with  added  responsi- 
bilities. Lieutenant  Duffey  died  on  September  30,  181 1, 
of  a  fever  common  to  the  tropics.  Six  months  after  his 
death  was  born  the  child  of  this  union,  Elizabeth,  the 
mother  of  Augustin  Daly. 

The  principal  relic  of  John  Duffey  preserved  by  his 
descendants  is  his  first  commission,  signed  by  George  HI 
and  dated  November  19,  1800,  making  him  ensign  in  a 
regiment  of  Fenclbles. 

Margaret  Duffey,  now  thirty-one  years  old,  a  woman 
of  indomitable  spirit,  set  herself  to  the  task  of  rearing 
this  young  brood  so  strangely  brought  to  her  nest.  She 
was  small  and  slender,  with  beauty  of  the  Irish  type,  —  fair 
skin,  black  hair,  and  dark  gray  eyes.  Elizabeth,  her 
youngest  child,  passed  a  happy  girlhood  in  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  isles  of  the  tropics.  Two  of  her  half-sisters 
were  soon  married  —  Catherine  to  William  Finchette  and 
Mary  Ann  to  John  H.  Woodgate,  both  of  good  families 
from  England.  Woodgate,  of  Quaker  stock,  was  an  ad- 
venturous youth  who  had  left  England  to  seek  his  fortune 
in  America,  and  after  every  variety  of  adventure  finally 
reached  New  Orleans  in  time  to  hire  as  a  deck-hand  on 


6  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

a  sloop  bound  for  Montego  Bay,  where  his  older  brother 
had  settled  some  years  before.  John  was  reduced  on 
landing  to  the  simple  outfit  of  trousers  and  shirt,  and 
when  his  brother  Edward,  advised  of  his  arrival,  cantered 
down  to  the  dock  on  his  chestnut  horse,  he  beheld  a  prodi- 
gal in  appearance  if  not  in  repentance.  He  took  the  youth 
home  and  set  him  up  in  business,  and  in  an  incredibly 
brief  space  John  was  the  owner  of  the  handsomest  resi- 
dence in  the  town. 

West  Indian  society  was  then  enjoying  its  best  days. 
The  theatre  was  a  favorite  recreation,  not  to  be  indulged 
in,  however,  except  when  travelling  companies  from  Eng- 
land crossed  the  mountains.  They  were  hospitably  enter- 
tained by  the  residents.  Among  those  actors  who  visited 
the  DufTeys  were  John  Bernard  (author  of  a  book  of 
memoirs)  and  William  Rufus  Blake,  afterwards  a  favorite 
in  New  York.  As  we  remember  him  he  was  immensely 
corpulent  —  but  in  the  Jamaica  days  he  was  "the  slim- 
mest and  gracefullest"  of  light-comedy  juveniles. 

The  fatal  negro  insurrection  occurred  in  Elizabeth's 
girlhood.  It  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  anti-slavery 
agitation  in  the  mother  country,  which  led  to  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  merciless  slave  trade,  was  not  followed  by 
emancipation  in  the  colonies.  The  traffic  in  slaves  had 
brought  to  Jamaica  in  less  than  a  century  over  six  hun- 
dred thousand  blacks.  Their  condition  varied  with  cir- 
cumstances. The  coal-black  African  cultivated  the  fields, 
or  worked  at  trades  or  as  a  day  laborer.  His  descend- 
ants of  various  colors  were  usually  domestic  servants. 
Slaves  were  hired,  and  had  to  be  returned  in  good  con- 
dition by  the  lessees  at  the  end  of  the  term.  For 
negligence  or  obstinacy  men  and  women  were  sent  by 
their  employers  to  the  jail  to  be  whipped,  private  punish- 
ment not  being  permitted.     Many  of  the  poor  creatures, 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  7 

who  knew  the  kind  heart  of  EHzabeth,  stopped  on  the  way 
to  punishment  to  implore  her  intercession,  and  the  young 
girl  was  always  ready  to  put  on  her  hat  and  go  to  the 
offended  master  or  mistress  upon  those  errands  of  mercy. 
She  was  never  unsuccessful.  It  was  not  always  an  easy 
task.  Some  of  the  slaves  were  chronic  insubordinates, 
for  whom  it  required  much  tact  to  plead. 

Another  phase  of  racial  Hfe  in  the  island  was  presented 
by  the  free  women  of  color,  the  children  of  planters, 
manumitted  by  their  fathers  and  left  in  many  instances 
with  considerable  means.  They  were  often  sent  abroad 
for  accomplishments  which  they  could  use  if  need  were 
for  their  support.  Many  of  them  were  hardly  to  be 
distinguished  from  white.  Some  formed  voluntary  con- 
nections with  wealthy  bachelors ;  but  many  were  distin- 
guished for  high  principles  and  strict  morality,  and  those 
with  means  often  developed  fine  traits  of  benevolence  in 
emulation  of  the  white  ladies  of  the  colony.  The  latter 
formed  a  community  of  high-minded  and  strict-living 
people. 

The  changed  conditions  that  resulted  from  the  eman- 
cipation of  the  slaves  (which  followed  the  insurrection) 
drove  many  business  men  to  the  United  States,  —  among 
them  Mr.  Woodgate.  He  brought  with  him  Thomas, 
a  boy  of  pure  African  descent,  born  of  slaves,  Mrs. 
Woodgate  was  no  sooner  settled  in  New  York  than  she 
wrote  to  her  stepmother,  pressing  her  to  come  with  Eliza- 
beth and  a  granddaughter  Margaret,  child  of  the  Fin- 
chettes,  who  were  dead.  Death  had  severed  nearly  every 
other  tie  on  the  island.  These  bereavements  inclined 
Mrs.  Duffey  to  join  the  Woodgates  in  New  York.  Twice 
was  passage  engaged  in  vessels  touching  at  Montego 
Bay,  and  each  time  an  accident  prevented  their  sailing. 
It  was  then  late  in  the  season,  and  the  hope  of  passage  by 


8  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

another  vessel  was  given  up.  The  brig  Victor,  however, 
commanded  by  Captain  Denis  Daly,  unexpectedly  arrived 
at  Falmouth.  Elizabeth  was  visiting  friends  there  when 
Captain  Daly  called  and  met  her.  He  wrote  immediately 
to  Mrs.  Duffey  that  he  would  stop  with  his  vessel  for  her 
at  Montego  Bay.  No  accident  now  prevented  the  em- 
barking, and  the  family  was  brought  to  New  York. 
There  the  marriage  of  Elizabeth  and  Captain  Daly  took 
place  at  the  Woodgates'  house  in  Grand  Street,  near  Essex, 
on  July  31,  1834. 

Captain  Daly  was  born  near  Limerick,  Ireland,  in 
1797.  His  father  Michael  Daly,  who  was  what  was  called 
a  gentleman  farmer,  gave  his  children  a  good  education 
and  procured  for  Denis  at  an  early  age  the  place  of  purser's 
clerk  in  the  British  navy.  This  determined  the  young 
man's  career,  and  when  he  shortly  after  resigned  from  that 
post  and  received  his  portion  from  his  father,  he  came  to 
America,  invested  his  means  in  building  the  Victor,  and 
commenced  trade  on  the  American  coast  and  in  the  West 
Indies.  He  is  described  as  tall  and  of  powerful  physique. 
His  adventurous  disposition  and  fearlessness  were  in- 
herited to  the  full  by  my  brother,  who  was  one  of  the 
most  physically  courageous  men  I  ever  knew. 

Immediately  after  the  wedding  the  bride  sailed  with 
her  husband  for  the  West  Indies.  On  their  way  back  her 
illness  compelled  them  to  put  in  to  Norfolk.  Not  long 
afterwards  the  Victor  was  lost  in  shipwreck,  uninsured, 
and  was  replaced  by  the  brig  William.  In  1838  Captain 
Daly  established  himself  in  the  lumber  business  at  Plym- 
outh, North  Carolina,  acquiring  the  Armistead  property, 
consisting  of  residence,  warehouse,  and  wharf.  There 
his  elder  son  Augustin  was  born  on  July  20,  1838,  a  sister 
(who  died  young)  having  been  born  in  Norfolk  in  1836. 
Captain  Daly  now  intrusted  the  vessels  he  chartered  to 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  9 

other  sailing  masters;  but  in  September,  1841,  when  the 
Union  was  ready  for  sea  with  a  cargo,  her  commander 
fell  ill,  and  Captain  Daly,  not  to  delay  her  sailing,  took 
up  his  old  station  on  the  quarter-deck.  Our  mother  never 
forgot  his  leaving  home.  He  had  the  sailor's  superstition 
about  formal  leave-takings,  and  she  watched  him  walk 
up  and  down  with  his  younger  son  in  his  arms,  lay  him 
in  his  cradle,  and  softly  leave  the  house.  Three  weeks 
later  a  letter  arrived  telling  of  his  death.  It  came  from 
Captain  Pike,  of  Ocracoke,  a  small  settlement  at  the  inlet 
of  the  same  name,  south  of  Cape  Hatteras  and  situated 
upon  the  long  sandy  breastwork  which  forms  the  Atlantic 
coast  of  North  Carolina,  and  separates  the  waste  of  ocean 
from  the  inner  waters  known  as  Pamlico  and  Albemarle 
sounds.  When  detained  by  adverse  winds  or  calms,  quite 
a  fleet  of  outward-bound  vessels  collects  at  the  inlet. 
The  coast  had  an  evil  reputation  for  wreckers,  and  many 
stories  were  told  of  vessels  lured  on  the  breakers  by  false 
lights  fastened  to  horses  which  were  led  up  and  down  the 
sands. 

Upon  receipt  of  the  distressing  communication  our 
mother  hastily  left  for  Ocracoke,  taking  with  her  a  captain 
and  two  seamen  for  the  Union,  as  she  was  advised  would 
be  necessary.  She  set  out  with  her  infant  son  and  a 
nurse,  by  coach,  at  four  in  the  morning,  for  Little  Wash- 
ington on  Pamlico  Sound,  found  a  sloop  ready  to  sail  to 
Ocracoke,  and  reached  it  the  same  day.  Captain  Pike 
and  his  wife  showed  her  every  attention  and  gave  her 
full  particulars  of  all  that  had  taken  place.  It  was  owing 
to  light  winds  and  calms  that  Captain  Daly  was  three 
weeks  in  reaching  Ocracoke  from  Plymouth.  When  his 
vessel  arrived  at  the  inlet  he  was  found  prostrated  with 
fever,  and  was  taken  ashore.  Doctor  Dudley  of  Ports- 
mouth, twelve  miles  distant,  was  sent  for,  but  could  not 


lo  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

save  him.  He  was  interred  in  a  plot  set  apart  for  burials 
in  Captain  Pike's  garden.  The  ravages  of  wind  and  wave 
have  devoured  the  shore  line  and  buried  the  little  cemetery 
beneath  the  waters  of  the  Sound. 

Our  mother  returned  to  Plymouth,  tried  to  put  her 
husband's  affairs  in  shape,  and  then  removed  to  Norfolk. 
The  administration  in  Plymouth  was  very  disappointing, 
and  the  disheartened  widow  conceived  a  distaste  for  the 
law  that  well-nigh  prevented,  in  after  years,  my  enter- 
ing that  worthy  profession.  Augustin  and  I  were  placed 
at  school  with  a  pedagogue  of  English  extraction  and 
formidable  aspect,  one  John  Primrose  Scott,  who  had 
married  an  old  friend  of  my  mother. 

One  of  the  important  structures  in  Norfolk  was  the 
Avon  Theatre,  visited  by  all  the  first-rate  travelling 
companies.  There  my  brother  and  I  saw  our  first  theatri- 
cal performance.  Of  theatres  we  had  never  heard  until  a 
friend  came  over  from  Portsmouth  with  tickets  for  the 
play.  Both  boys  were  then  away  from  home  in  different 
parts  of  the  town  and  were  hastily  sent  for.  I  was  the 
only  one  reached  in  time,  and  great  was  the  outcry  of  the 
elder  at  his  disappointment  when  he  got  home  just  as  we 
were  setting  out  —  myself,  aged  seven,  in  all  the  elegance 
of  a  white  tunic  and  trousers,  with  a  shiny  black  belt, 
and  a  bouquet  in  hand.  I  endeavored  to  comfort  him 
with  the  philosophy  usually  applied  on  such  occasions, 
but  he  only  howled  the  louder  and  secluded  himself  in  a 
closet.  When  we  returned,  grandmother  described  with 
much  pride  how  resigned  he  at  last  became,  and  how  he 
went  to  bed  very  quietly.  He  was  warmly  praised. 
Within  a  week  it  became  his  turn  to  go  to  the  play  and 
mine  sadly  to  apply  the  philosophy.  I  expected  to  hear 
next  morning  that  I  had  gone  to  bed  quietly  and  resignedly 
too.     No  such    statement  was  forthcoming,    and  I  ven- 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  ii 

tured  to  present  the  fact  myself,  but  without  attract- 
ing notice. 

Augustin  and  I  next  day  fell  to  comparing  notes  on  the 
marvels  we  had  witnessed.  I  had  seen  "Macbeth"  with 
James  E.  Murdoch  and  Mrs.  Russell  (afterwards  Mrs. 
John  Hoey)  in  the  leading  parts.  Augustin  had  seen 
"Rookwood,"  with  Murdoch  as  the  dashing  highwayman 
Dick  Turpin,  and  his  vivid  description  of  that  thrilling 
adaptation  of  Ainsworth's  novel  convinced  me  that  he  had 
had  the  best  of  it;  for  all  that  I  distinctly  remembered 
of  my  play  was  Lady  Macbeth  in  a  nightgown  with  a 
chamber  candlestick,  beckoning  the  audience  "to  bed"  — 
a  recommendation  too  suggestive  to  be  relished  by  a  small 
boy  sitting  up  for  the  first  time.  His  experience  aroused 
in  Augustin  at  once  the  spirit  of  the  theatre.  He  devised 
performances  in  our  woodhouse,  to  the  satisfaction  of  our 
small  neighbors. 

It  was  a  year  after  this  that  our  Aunt  Woodgate  suc- 
ceeded in  persuading  her  sister  Elizabeth  to  come  to 
New  York  with  her  family.  "You  must  feel,  Betsy,"  she 
wrote,  "that  this  city  is  the  only  place  for  a  widow,  with 
boys  who  have  to  make  their  way  in  the  world  !" 


CHAPTER   II 

Public  school  pupil.  Enlists  for  the  battle  of  life.  Night  school. 
Amateur  dramatic  societies.  Some  well-known  members.  Loca- 
tion of  these  little  theatres.  Maternal  solicitude  and  precaution. 
Augustin  not  an  actor.  A  boyish  Julius  Caesar.  Scene-painting 
doubled  with  Mark  Antony.  Low  condition  of  New  York  play- 
houses. Vile  upper  tiers.  The  stage  and  the  actors.  Talented 
drunkards.  A  boy's  experience.  Fourth  of  July.  The  Bowery 
pit.  Junius  Brutus  Booth  in  "  Richard  III  "  drives  Richmond  off 
Bosworth  Field.  The  Astor  Place  riot.  "Ned  Buntline"  and 
his  sentence.  A  childish  witness  of  the  fray.  Forrest  on  Ma- 
cready.  Respect  for  the  drama  in  New  York.  Theatres  pro- 
vincial. All  but  two  keep  actors  in  stock  to  support  stars.  The 
Daly  boys  are  taken  to  the  theatre.  The  six  theatres  of  the 
metropolis.  Barnum  and  his  lecture  room.  His  ups  and  downs. 
A  little  game  of  "human  wreck."  Bills  of  the  play  and  what 
they  contained.  Adah  Isaac  Menken.  The  Ravels.  The  Rev- 
olutionary drama.     Enchantment  of  Castle  Garden. 

Augustin  attended  for  a  brief  season  the  public  school 
in  Broome  Street,  New  York,  presided  over  by  the  late 
James  Dewitt  —  one  of  the  first  schools  organized  under 
the  new  department  of  education,  the  successor  of  the 
old  Public  School  Society.  Among  his  schoolmates  was 
John  H.  V.  Arnold,  afterwards  Surrogate  of  New  York, 
and  a  great  collector  of  works  on  the  drama  and  early 
New  York  history.  Our  mother,  with  firm  independence, 
would  accept  no  aid  from  her  relatives  in  rearing  her 
children,  and  in  order  to  add  to  her  diminishing  resources 
took  special  lessons  in  sewing  in  order  to  earn  money  to 
keep  her  sons  at  school.  Augustin  was,  however,  anxious' 
to  begin  the  battle  of  life.  He  became  clerk  in  one 
concern  after  another,  and  attended  night  school  as  well. 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  13 

At  this  period  the  theatrical  inclinations  of  the  youth 
of  New  York  found  encouragement  in  amateur  societies, 
usually  named  after  celebrated  actors,  which  gave  per- 
formances in  little  theatres  in  the  upper  stories  of  com- 
mercial buildings.  The  "Murdoch  Association"  met  in 
Crosby  Street;  the  "Burton"  in  a  room  near  the  theatre 
in  Chambers  Street;  and  the  "John  R.  Scott  Association" 
usually  performed  in  Humor  Hall,  a  third-story  opera- 
house  in  Houston  Street  fitted  up  by  German  amateurs. 

These  associations  were  nurseries  which  graduated 
many  celebrities.  F.  F.  Mackay  belonged  to  the  "Mur- 
doch." It  was  the  rule  of  these  societies  that  each  mem- 
ber was  to  have  his  night,  for  which  he  was  to  choose 
his  own  play  and  his  own  part  in  it  and  be  loyally  sup- 
ported by  his  associates.  When  young  Mackay  had  his 
night,  he  was  supported  by  George  C.  Boniface,  William 
J.  Florence,  and  Maggie  Mitchell,  —  all  stars  in  later 
years. 

Towards  one  or  more  of  these  amateur  societies  did 
Augustin  naturally  incline,  greatly  to  the  distress  of 
our  dear  mother,  who  always  required  me  to  go  with  him 
and  supply  the  companionship  needed  in  boyhood. 
Hence  we  were  constantly  together  at  night,  went  every- 
where, and  saw  pretty  much  everything.  His  joining 
the  dramatic  associations  was  not,  I  can  testify,  due  to 
any  wish  of  appearing  on  the  stage.  It  was  owing,  I 
can  see  now,  to  a  haunting  desire  to  become  familiar  with 
management.  He  was  absolutely  without  ambition  to 
act.  I  do  not  recall  his  ever  playing  a  part  except  twice, 
once  to  be  mentioned  in  the  next  chapter,  and  once  in  a 
small  literary  society  when  he  took  the  part  of  Julius 
'CcEsar.  He  managed  the  production,  and  set  me  to  work 
to  paint  the  scenery,  which  I  cheerfully  undertook  with- 
out any  previous  experience.     To  be  sure  he  also  cast  me 


14  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

for  the  responsible  part  of  Mark  Antony^  but  I  know  that 
in  his  opinion  my  success  was  on  that  occasion  achieved 
as  scenic  artist.  As  for  his  impersonation  of  Julius  Casar, 
I  think  that  with  his  classic  robes  and  his  strikingly  hand- 
some features,  a  more  agreeable  boyish  figure  was  never 
seen  upon  any  stage. 

The  dread  of  contamination  from  too  close  association 
with  things  theatrical,  which  my  mother  in  common  with 
many  other  good  people  felt  in  that  day,  was  excusable 
for  more  than  one  reason.  Theatrical  management  was 
then  precarious,  and  places  of  amusement  were  open  to 
grave  objections.  The  playhouse  deserved  the  hard 
things  that  were  said  about  it.  In  every  theatre  there 
was  an  upper  tier  with  a  bar,  where  strong  drinks  were 
supplied  and  (in  some  houses)  where  the  profligate  of  both 
sexes  resorted.  To  be  sure  there  was  no  necessity  for  the 
patrons  of  the  family  circle  or  the  boxes  to  come  in  contact 
with  such  visitors,  as  the  bad  company  was  confined  to 
the  upper  and  cheaper  parts  of  the  house,  —  the  "shilling 
gallery,"  admission  to  which  was  twelve  and  a  half  cents 
(there  was  a  coin  of  that  value  in  those  days) ;  but  it 
was  natural  to  fear  that  to  that  part  of  the  house  young 
men  bent  upon  seeing  life  would  be  tempted,  for  access 
to  it  was  open. 

The  actor  shared  the  uncertainties  of  the  manager; 
salaries  were  small  and  sometimes  irregular.  And  the 
player  too  often  was  more  convivial  than  ambitious. 
After  the  performance  he  resorted  to  taverns  and  coffee- 
houses (all  well  known  and  respectable  enough)  and 
entertained  the  patrons  of  the  theatre  (all  well  known  and 
respected  too),  and  there  until  the  early  hours  he  discussed 
the  glories  of  the  stage  and  many  tobies  of  strong  ale. 
He  was  not  then  the  conservative  and  prosperous  capi- 
talist that  he  is  to-day.     Several  causes  combined  to  lower 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  15 

his  self-respect,  and  it  was  not  increased  by  the  pubHc 
sentiment  which  condoned  his  faihngs,  and  tolerated  the 
upper  circle  of  the  playhouse  with  its  bar.  It  was  the  day 
of  the  "talented  drunkard,"  the  ban  of  managers  and  the 
cause  of  annoyance  and  disappointment  to  the  public. 
It  was  owing  to  the  impression  made  upon  my  brother's 
mind  by  the  conditions  existing  in  his  youth  that  he 
instituted  reforms  in  every  direction  when  he  opened  his 
first  theatre.  Led  by  his  forceful  spirit,  a  succession  of 
laudable  followers  helped  to  preserve  his  standards  for 
the  playhouse  and  the  profession. 

Judge  Charles  P.  Daly  used  to  relate  an  experience 
of  his  own  when  Junius  Brutus  Booth  was  in  his  prime, 
and  any  announcement  of  his  engagement  drew  crowds 
willing  to  risk  the  possibility  of  disappointment  from  his 
well-known  convivial  habits.  It  was  a  Fourth  of  July, 
and  Charles  had  saved  up  his  pocket  money  for  fire- 
crackers, gunpowder,  and  a  pit  ticket  for  the  Bowery 
to  see  the  great  Booth  as  Richard  III.  The  gunpowder 
and  crackers,  alas  !  were  wasted ;  for  when  he  awoke, 
as  he  thought,  at  daybreak,  and  hurried  to  the  Hoboken 
Ferry  to  take  the  boat  for  the  general  holiday  resort,  the 
Elysian  Fields,  he  saw  to  his  astonishment  crowds  re- 
turning instead  of  going,  and  found  that  he  had  waked  in 
the  evening  instead  of  the  morning  twilight !  But  the 
glories  of  the  night  were  still  to  be  enjoyed,  and  he 
hastened  back  to  the  theatre,  where  the  doors  were  to  be 
opened  at  half  past  six  and  the  performance  was  to  com- 
mence at  seven,  according  to  the  early  habits  of  those 
days.  To  his  dismay  the  pit  was  already  packed  with 
men  standing  several  deep  at  the  back  and  preventing  the 
least  view  of  the  stage  by  a  late  comer,  especially  a  small 
boy.  Observing  his  predicament,  however,  the  good- 
natured  men  in  front  of  him  lifted  him  over  their  heads 


1 6  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

and  passed  him  along  from  hand  to  hand  to  the  patrons 
of  the  crowded  front  rows,  who  then  deposited  him  on  the 
stage.  This  expedient  was  soon  followed  with  the  re- 
maining small  boys  in  the  pit,  and  they  were  all  safely 
huddled  in  corners  of  the  "float,"  a  space  which  in  those 
days  projected  several  feet  in  front  of  the  curtain.  Here 
the  youngsters  watched  the  malignant,  crook-backed 
tyrant  dispose  of  the  rival  Plantagenets,  order  Buckingham 
to  execution,  and  ultimately,  in  defiance  of  history,  chase 
Richmond  off  the  field  —  for  it  happened  to  be  one  of 
those  occasions  when  Booth  was  more  than  ordinarily 
full  of  inspiration.  The  luckless  Richmond  on  that  night 
was  actually  pursued  down  the  back  stairs,  out  of  the 
back  door,  and  into  the  street,  and  finally  saved  himself 
by  taking  refuge  in  a  convenient  passage. 

The  conditions  referred  to  above  were  not  alone  what 
then  affected  a  large  part  of  the  community  unfavorably 
towards  the  theatre.  Just  before  we  came  to  the  city 
occurred  the  Astor  Place  Opera  House  riot,  growing  out  of 
the  partisanship  of  admirers  of  the  eminent  English  actor, 
Macready,  and  of  the  popular  Edwin  Forrest.  Newspaper 
articles  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  injudicious  speeches 
by  Macready  from  the  stage,  injurious  replies  published 
by  Forrest,  inflammatory  articles  in  a  weekly  called  Ned 
Buntline^s  Own,  written  by  the  publisher,  Judson,  and,  on 
the  occasion  of  a  farewell  engagement  of  Macready  at  the 
Opera  House,  a  canard  that  the  officers  and  crew  of  a 
British  vessel  in  the  harbor  were  to  land  for  his  protection 
—  all  this  led  to  a  mob  marching  on  the  theatre  to  wreck 
it,  the  calling  out  of  the  militia,  and  a  fierce  encounter 
in  which  the  soldiers  had  to  fight  for  their  own  lives, 
resulting  in  the  killing  of  twenty-three  persons  and  the 
wounding  of  twenty-two.  The  ringleader  Judson  (or 
"Ned  Buntline,"  as  he  called  himself),  with  other  of  the 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  17 

rioters,  was  indicted,  tried,  and  found  guilty.  Judson, 
the  instigator  of  the  fray  by  appeal  in  his  paper  to  "pa- 
triotism," very  properly  received  the  utmost  punishment 
for  the  offence  (rioting)  for  which  he  was  indicted  — 
namely,  a  year's  imprisonment  and  a  fine.  To  the  claims 
for  consideration  made  in  his  behalf  on  the  score  of  his 
services  to  his  country  (he  had  been  formerly  in  the  navy) 
and  of  his  alleged  breeding  as  a  gentleman  and  a  scholar, 
the  district  attorney,  John  McKeon,  retorted  that  whatever 
he  had  once  been,  he  was  now  one  of  the  proprietors  "of 
a  vile  newspaper  —  a  beast  of  prey  hanging  on  the  great 
camp  of  humanity  and  living  on  the  carrion  of  blasted 
character  and  vice."  It  was  significantly  observed  also 
that  whereas  all  the  other  prisoners  had  offered  proof  of 
previous  good  character  in  mitigation  of  their  offence, 
Judson  did  not  venture  to  do  so. 

F.  F.  Mackay,  then  a  boy,  was  on  the  north  side  of 
Astor  Place  with  a  young  friend  who  had  come  with  him, 
as  boys  will,  to  see  the  row.  When  the  firing  began,  a 
man  standing  by  them  exclaimed,  "That's  no  blank  car- 
tridge," and  seizing  little  Mackay,  tossed  him  over  the 
railing  and  into  the  area  below.  When  Mackay  got  out 
again,  he  found  that  his  boy  companion  had  been  shot. 
Mackay  years  afterwards  frequently  supported  Forrest  in 
star  engagements.  When  Forrest  last  played  in  Boston, 
a  chair  was  placed  in  the  wings  to  save  him  the  fatigue  of 
going  to  his  dressing-room  after  each  scene.  He  used  to 
make  Mackay  sit  with  him,  and  one  night  the  latter  told 
him  of  the  news  from  England  that  Macready  was  dead. 
Forrest  uttered  an  exclamation  and  raised  his  hands  and 
eyes,  then  said  in  a  strong  voice  :  "The  greatest  artist 
of  them  all  !  In  ten  years  there  will  be  no  one  to  read 
Shakespeare!"  Mackay  suggested  that  there  remained 
Phelps,   then  a  deserved  favorite  of  the  London   stage. 


1 8  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

"Phelps  is  an  old  man,"  answered  Forrest,  and  repeated, 
"In  ten  years  there  will  be  no  one  to  read  Shakespeare  !" 

Respect  for  the  drama  in  civilized  communities  is  too 
deeply  seated  to  be  destroyed  by  adventitious  circum- 
stances. The  theatre  was  a  favorite  recreation  with  the 
most  intelligent  circles  of  New  York.  But  the  city  was 
then  served  somewhat  like  an  English  provincial  town. 
Its  theatres,  with  two  exceptions,  were  maintained  for  the 
accommodation  of  travelling  stars  who  appeared  season 
after  season  with  the  regularity  of  the  winter  constella- 
tions. For  their  convenience  stock  companies  were 
maintained  like  stock  scenery.  Burton's  and  Wallack's 
were  the  exceptions. 

Our  good  Aunt  and  Uncle  Woodgate  were  fond  of  the 
theatre  and  took  us  there  often.  Besides  Burton's  ^  and 
Wallack's,^  there  were  Niblo's,^  the  Broadway,^  the 
Bowery,^  and  the  National.^  In  these  places  the  ballet 
was  modestly  clothed  and  the  only  "  problem  "  play  was  the 
antiquated  "Stranger."  There  was  one  place  to  which 
small  boys  and  girls  were  allowed  to  go  as  matter  of  course. 
This  was  Barnum's  Museum,^  comprising  three  floors  of 
curiosities,  and  a  "lecture  room"  fitted  up  marvellously 
like  a  theatre,  but  to  which  persons  having  a  prejudice 
against  playhouses  might  resort  without  misgivings.  It 
was  a  profitable  concern,  but  Barnum  happened  to  back 
a  New  England  Clock  Company  too  heavily  and  failed. 
The  story  of  how  he  recovered  is  characteristic.  His 
creditors  were  visited  in  turn  by  a  sympathetic  friend, 
leading  a  human  wreck.  The  human  wreck  was  Barnum. 
The  eloquent  friend  persuaded  the  creditors  to  sign  off 

'  Chambers  Street.  ■•  Near  Worth  Street. 

^  Near  Broome  Street.  *  Still  standing. 

'  Near  Prince  Street.  •  Chatham  Street. 

^  Near  Grand  Street. 


Ai'GL'STiN  Daly 
About  1854 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  19 

for  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar.  This  accomplished,  Barnum 
—  washed,  shaved,  and  faultlessly  dressed  —  presided 
once  more  over  his  museum.  One  creditor,  however,  had 
taken  the  precaution  to  add,  "on  condition  that  Mr.  Bar- 
num will  not  be  able  to  pay  any  more."  He  got  his 
money. 

As  Augustin  grew  in  years,  his  favorite  theatres  were 
Wallack's  and  Burton's,  where  real  theatrical  companies 
were  maintained,  and  in  which  (at  Wallack's,  especially) 
Shakespearian  comedy,  old  plays  and  new  ones  were 
presented  with  scenery  and  costumes  specially  prepared 
for  each  revival.     Here  Daly  learned  his  art. 

What  bills  of  the  play  there  were  in  those  days  !  Such 
a  night's  entertainment  is  unknown  in  these  degenerate 
times.  A  five-act  tragedy,  then  a  pas  seul  by  a  favorite 
danseuse,  perhaps  a  comic  song,  and  the  whole  to  conclude 
with  a  rattling  farce  or  a  gorgeous  extravaganza ;  the 
pas  seul  at  the  Bowery  or  the  National  by  Miss  Gertrude 
Dawes  amid  the  shouts  of  the  boys,  and  at  Wallack's  by 
Miss  Malvina  Pray,  who  was  soon  to  become  Mrs.  W.  J. 
Florence  and  to  dance  through  a  hundred  parts,  from 
Yankee  Gal  to  Mrs.  Gilflory.  The  bills  of  the  play  were 
real  bills  of  the  play  —  none  of  your  latter-day  "pro- 
grammes" with  columns  of  chit-chat  and  newsy  para- 
graphs edited  by  a  literary  person  with  scissors  and  paste, 
or,  worse  still,  the  modern  abomination  of  thirty-two  pages 
containing,  to  the  few  crumbs  of  information  about  the 
play,  an  intolerable  deal  of  advertisements.  They  were 
good  generous  bills  of  the  play,  a  yard  long,  but  known  as 
the  "small  bills"  —  to  which  the  public  was  referred  by 
the  advertisements,  for  "particulars." 

And  what  freaks  of  ambition  did  the  bills  of  the  play 
disclose  !  A  tight-rope  dancer  (his  full  name  ought  to 
be  known — John  Milton  Hengler)  essaying  the  character 


20  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

of  Hamlet,  and,  as  it  appears,  for  one  night  only  !  And 
Lola  Montez,  deserting  a  royal  admirer  to  court  the 
sovereign  public,  but  without  a  qualification  for  the  stage 
unless  it  were  notoriety,  essaying  the  role  of  danseuse  (she 
could  not  dance)  ;  then  of  actress  (she  could  not  act)  in  a 
play  "written  expressly  for  her  by  Mr.  C.  P.  T.  Ware," 
a  poor  little  hack  playwright  who  wrote  anything  for 
anybody  —  and  making  a  complete  failure  in  all. 

And  how  the  inky  blackness  of  the  bills  of  the  play  is 
illumined  by  strange  meteors  that  flashed  for  their  brief 
moment  and  were  gone  !  Here  is  the  singular  Hebrew 
star,  Adah  Isaacs  Menken,  ambitious  to  be  poet  as  well  as 
actress,  who  has  left  some  memories  of  herself  as  Mazeppa 
bound  to  a  trained  steed,  some  accounts  of  adventures  in 
foreign  lands,  and  a  book  of  verse,  "Infelicia,"  dedicated 
to  Charles  Dickens.  Here  the  bills  show  fairyland  — 
Niblo's  Garden  with  the  Ravel  pantomimists  —  and  here 
the  Revolutionary  drama,  a  favorite  entertainment  when 
our  country  was  young,  in  which  one  Yankee  easily 
whipped  half  a  dozen  Britishers,  and  George  Washington 
always  appeared  with  red  fire,  in  a  final  tableau  ;  and  here 
a  real  scene  of  enchantment  —  the  opera  at  Castle  Garden, 
where  the  audiences  between  the  acts  strolled  out  on  the 
balconies  to  watch  the  moonbeams  dance  with  the  waters 
of  the  bay. 


CHAPTER   III 

Theatre  in  a  back  yard.  First  attempt  of  a  dramatist  unknown  to 
fame.  A  boy's  paper.  First  attempt  at  management  in  public. 
The  Melville  Troupe  in  Brooklyn.  Incidental  account  of  the 
attempt  to  establish  the  Brooklyn  Academy  of  Music.  Objec- 
tions to  a  curtain.  Daly  tackles  the  early  Brooklyn  public. 
Home-made  poster.  Varied  entertainment  announced.  Unselfish- 
ness of  the  confederates.  "Costumes  by  Mr.  Harry  Seymour." 
"Music  by  orchestra  of  six  pieces."  Young  ladies  engaged.  Cast 
of  characters.  Division  of  glory.  Sefton  to  be  Toodles.  Troubles 
of  the  manager.  No  money  for  costumes.  Seymour  adapts  him- 
self to  circumstances.  German  band  succumbs.  The  last  quar- 
ter. Performance  perfect  except  for  one  stage  wait.  Porter  in 
"  Macbeth  "  downstairs  arguing  with  the  band.  Banquo  as  Porter. 
Macduf*s  peril.  All's  well.  The  Melville  Troupe  fulfills  its 
promise  to  the  public.  Charles  Mathews.  Augustin  determines 
to  become  a  journalist. 

No  sooner  did  the  small  boy  Augustin  feel  himself  at 
home  in  New  York  than  he  set  up  a  theatre  in  the  rather 
confined  back  yard  of  our  house  in  Ridge  Street.  He 
gathered  the  admiring  urchins  of  the  neighborhood 
together  for  his  company,  and  after  fitting  up  the  stage 
and  announcing  the  opening,  it  suddenly  occurred  to 
him  that  he  had  no  play.  "That's  all  right,"  spoke  up 
the  oldest  boy  present,  "I'll  write  one."  I  forget  that 
boy's  name  —  It  ought  to  be  remembered  because  he  was 
one  of  those  who  "do  things."  He  called  for  pen.  Ink, 
and  paper,  which  being  promptly  furnished,  together 
with  a  barrel  head  to  write  upon,  he  spread  the  sheet  of 
foolscap  and  Instantly  plunged  Into  the  throes  of  composi- 
tion ;  we  saw  with  wondering  eyes  the  lines  flow  from  his 
pen  : 

21 


22  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"The  Debt. 
A  Play. 

Act  I,  Scene  i.     Interior  of  an  inn.     Enter  Gentleman." 

And  then  he  stopped.  For  what  reason  he  stopped  I 
cannot  say,  but  he  never  penned  another  line  of  that 
play.  He  may,  in  after  years,  have  grown  to  be  a  very 
useful  citizen,  but  I  am  firmly  convinced  that  we  then  and 
there  witnessed  his  whole  career  as  a  dramatist. 

With  Augustin's  predilection  for  the  theatre  went  a 
fondness  for  journalism,  and  he  began,  with  boyish  friends 
of  similar  proclivities,  a  weekly  story  paper  in  manu- 
script. J.  H.  V.  Arnold  was  one  of  the  editors.  Each 
number  was  to  be  controlled  by  a  different  person,  whose 
production  was  to  be  freely  criticised  in  the  following 
issue.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  merits  of  those 
productions,  there  was  no  question  as  to  the  roundness, 
fulness,  and  searching  quality  of  the  criticisms.  It  was 
not  a  bad  beginning  for  the  career  of  a  future  dramatic 
reviewer. 

As  he  grew,  his  ideas  enlarged.  Having  encouraged 
his  brother  to  put  on  paper  a  farce  in  one  act,  "A  Bach- 
elor's Wardrobe,"  an  effort  wholly  original  and  boyish, 
an  appointment  was  secured  with  the  great  Burton  him- 
self, then  ^  the  manager  of  the  new  Metropolitan  Theatre.^ 
Nothing  could  exceed  the  graciousness  of  the  veteran's 
reception  of  the  youthful  visitor.  He  promised  to  give 
the  play  a  reading.  It  was  returned  without  loss  of  time, 
accompanied  by  a  note  pointing  out  its  unsuitableness  for 
production,  but  adding  that  it  evinced  a  sense  of  humor 
that  gave  promise  for  the  future. 

>  1856. 

*  Broadway  opposite  Bond  Street. 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  23 

Immediately  after  this,  Augustin,  mere  lad  that  he  was, 
conceived  the  incredible  idea  of  hiring  a  real  theatre  for 
one  night  and  giving  a  genuine  public  performance. 
The  only  real  theatre  which  at  that  time  could  be  engaged 
by  a  manager  of  limited  means  —  say  pocket  money  to  a 
small  amount  —  was,  of  all  places  in  the  world,  in  the  city 
of  Brooklyn.  In  the  year  a.d.  1856  Brooklyn  had  but  one 
theatre,  and  that  was  on  the  third  floor  of  a  building  on 
the  corner  of  Fulton  and  Orange  streets,  for  Brooklyn  was 
widely  known  as  the  City  of  Churches,  and  its  residents 
preferred  to  cross  the  ferry  when  they  sought  recreation 
of  a  worldly  character.  It  was  not  until  a  year  or  two  after 
the  event  which  we  are  about  to  describe  that  the  best 
people  reluctantly  consented  to  countenance  the  erection 
of  a  playhouse  in  their  serious  borough,  and  even  then  they 
compromised  by  calling  it  an  Academy  of  Music.  Nor 
was  this  project  completed  without  strange  internal  con- 
vulsions in  the  Building  Committee,  principally  over  the 
questions  of  stage  and  scenery.  When  these  and  foot- 
lights were  conceded  to  advanced  sentiment,  a  firm  stand 
was  made  against  a  curtain.  "A  curtain,"  as  I  heard  one 
grave  citizen  argue,  "is  intended  to  conceal  something, 
and  concealment  suggests  impropriety. "  It  was  neces- 
sary to  explain  to  him  that  stage  plays  were  usually  divided 
into  sections  commonly  called  "acts,"  and  that  the  curtain 
was  lowered  simply  to  mark  the  intervals ;  also  that  it 
was  highly  advantageous  to  screen  the  preparation  of  the 
different  scenes,  and  then  to  display  them  as  a  whole  by 
the  raising  of  the  curtain.  Many  instances  were  adduced 
and  authorities  appealed  to  In  substantiation  of  these 
arguments,  which  were  ultimately  supported  by  the 
personal  recollections  of  some  of  the  older  inhabitants, — 
the  younger  prudently  held  their  peace,  —  and  finally  a 
complete    playhouse    was    established    and    the    ice    was 


24  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

broken ;  so  that  now  Brooklyn  has  become  a  city  of 
theatres  as  well  as  churches,  and  no  harm  done. 

At  the  period  of  destitution  when  Brooklyn  boasted 
the  solitary  third-story  playhouse  first  mentioned,  the 
vicinity  of  that  temple  of  Momus  was  suddenly  irradiated 
by  a  gorgeous  poster  (hand-painted),  announcing  that 
"The  Melville  Troupe  of  Juvenile  Comedians,"  on  their 
way  from  Canada  to  the  Southern  States,  would  give  a 
performance  for  one  night  only  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn, 
and  would  present  a  varied  bill  of  attractions  commencing 
with  the  screaming  farce  of  "  Poor  Pillicoddy,"  followed 
by  the  second  act  of  Shakespeare's  sublime  tragedy  of 
"Macbeth  "  ;  after  which  a  comic  song  would  be  given  by 
Master  William  Melville,  the  whole  to  conclude  with 
the  celebrated  drama  in  two  acts  entitled  "Toodles,"  in 
which  the  aforesaid  Master  William  Melville  would  enact 
his  famous  impersonation  of  Mr.  Toodles. 

Thus  was  heralded  to  the  world  the  first  effort  in  pub- 
lic management  of  the  distinguished  theatrical  director 
of  a  later  day.  The  whole  scheme  was  his  invention.  He 
was  then  eighteen,  and  his  confederates,  all  former  school- 
mates, were  mostly  younger.  He  had  no  money ;  nobody 
had  any  money  sufficient  to  pay  the  expenses  of  an  under- 
taking which  included  rent  of  theatre  and  hire  of  musicians 
and  costumes.  With  perfect  honesty  the  young  manager 
expected  to  meet  them  with  the  receipts  of  the  perform- 
ance, which  were  to  be  sacredly  devoted  to  the  purpose. 
None  of  the  boy  associates  was  to  receive  a  penny  —  the 
glory  of  acting  was  to  be  ample  compensation.  Not  even 
the  attaches  in  front  of  the  house  were  to  be  paid  ;  they 
were  all  confederates,  and,  so  far  as  the  doorkeeper  and 
ushers  went,  were  to  be  rewarded  by  being  permitted  to  look 
at  the  performance.  Difficulty,  it  is  true,  was  experienced 
with  the  ticket-seller  and  treasurer,  whose  station  was  one 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  25 

flight  down  from  the  auditorium.  A  compromise,  however, 
was  efl"ected  with  him.  After  he  judged  that  the  demand 
for  tickets  had  ceased  he  was  to  come  up  and  see  the  play. 
This  he  did,  and  it  is  highly  creditable  to  the  honesty  of 
the  people  of  Brooklyn  that  no  one  attempted  to  effect 
a  surreptitious  entrance.  A  number  —  not  a  very  great 
number  —  of  persons,  when  the  doors  were  opened,  did 
actually  pay  to  come  in,  but  no  one  attempted  to  enter 
without  paying.  Those  who  had  no  intention  of  paying 
had  no  intention  of  coming. 

The  costumes  for  the  three  plays  were  engaged  from 
the  emporium  of  Mr.  Harry  Seymour,  a  big-hearted 
ex-actor  who  kept  his  establishment  in  Canal  Street. 
The  music  was  to  be  furnished  by  an  orchestra  of  six  pieces 
under  a  leader,  an  honest  German,  found  I  don't  know 
where.  Both  these  purveyors  were  to  be  paid  in  advance 
on  their  appearance  at  the  theatre.  It  was  supposed  that 
the  receipts  of  course  would  be  ample  for  the  purpose, 
since  the  music  was  to  cost  about  ten  dollars  and  the 
costumes  eight ;  and  with  rent  about  twenty-five  more, 
the  prospect  of  a  handsome  profit  was  undeniable.  This 
hope  satisfied  also  the  young  ladies  who  were  engaged  for 
Lady  Macbeth,  Mrs.  Toodles,  and  the  other  female  char- 
acters of  the  bill,  at  a  small  salary.  They  were  young  and 
ambitious,  and  were  easily  found  by  advertising  for  ladies 
desirous  of  joining  a  juvenile  troupe.  What  the  stage- 
struck  damsels  thought  when  waited  upon  by  the  youthful 
manager  and  his  equally  boyish  assistants  to  discuss  the 
terms  of  the  engagement,  I  do  not  know ;  but  engage 
they  did  with  great  good-will,  and  they  entered  into 
the  spirit  of  the  enterprise,  took  their  chances  of  getting 
any  salary,  and  loyally  did  their  best  to  be  Melville  sisters 
and  to  see  the  thing  through,  with  a  devotion  which  might 
have  been  inspired  by  the  vanity  of  figuring  on  the  stage, 


26  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

but  which,  I  am  sure,  was  all  hearty,  womanly,  and  good. 

The  rehearsals  for  this  performance  were  held  in  a  room 
in  the  old  Gothic  Hall  on  Broadway,  opposite  the  former 
site  of  the  New  York  Hospital.  The  programme  was 
arranged  by  the  manager  to  give  the  genius  of  the  young 
Melvilles  ample  scope  for  display.  Macbeth  was  to  be 
enacted  by  Charles  Melville  {ne  Jacobson,  an  ambitious, 
dark-haired  lad  who  afterwards  joined  Wallack's  Com- 
pany), and,  as  before  stated.  Master  William  Melville 
(Sefton)  was  to  convulse  with  his  inimitable  Toodles. 
He  had  done  it  several  times  at  private  parties,  and  it 
was  immensely  if  restrictedly  popular.  From  the  very 
beginning  the  young  manager  was  to  taste  all  the  bitter- 
sweets  of  management.  Not  only  did  he  undertake  the 
engagement  of  theatre,  music,  costumes,  female  stars,  and 
the  innumerable  other  details  of  his  project  single-handed, 
with  rehearsals  to  manage  in  addition,  but  he  had  to  en- 
counter insubordination  and  dissatisfaction  in  his  troupe, 
one  or  two  young  gentlemen  throwing  up  their  parts  and 
having  to  be  pursued  and  placated  on  street  corners. 

At  length  the  eventful  night  saw  everything  prepared. 
The  auditorium,  brilliant  with  lights,  awaited  the  specta- 
tors. These  poured  in  until  the  total  takings  at  the  box- 
office  reached  the  sum  of  eleven  dollars  and  seventy-iive 
cents.  This,  with  all  the  Melville  family's  private  re- 
sources, was  immediately  turned  over  to  the  landlord, 
who  had  the  first  claim  and  whose  payment  left  in  the 
managerial  pocket  a  surplus  of  twenty-five  cents.  When 
Seymour  arrived  in  the  green  room  (on  the  lower  floor) 
with  a  huge  trunk  of  costumes,  he  was  compelled  to  listen 
to  excuses.  His  first  impulse  was  to  sit  on  the  lid  of  his 
trunk,  and  his  next  to  depart  with  his  goods.  Ultimately, 
finding  himself  confronted  by  a  condition  not  perhaps  un- 
familiar to  an  old  actor,  and  recalling  his  own  golden  days. 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  27 

he  relented,  opened  his  treasures,  and  soon  had  the  Mel- 
ville Troupe  arrayed  in  their  stage  finery. 

This  ordeal  gone  through,  worse  remained.  The 
German  band  arrived  and  filled  the  passage  with  their 
portly  forms  and  instruments,  and  waited,  as  was  their 
custom,  for  their  leader  to  announce  that  the  pecuniary 
obligations  of  the  management  had  been  met.  The 
animated  colloquy  (unaccompanied  by  any  show  of 
money)  which  took  place  between  the  high  contracting 
parties  soon,  however,  excited  fears  not  perhaps  foreign 
to  their  stolid  breasts.  The  dilemma  of  the  Melvilles 
was  imparted  to  them  by  their  leader,  who,  after  a  short 
conference  with  them,  announced  their  decision  to  return 
home,  and  their  simple  request  that  at  least  the  cost  of 
their  passage  back  over  the  ferry  might  be  forthcoming. 
The  disconsolate  manager,  with  a  rapid  mental  calculation 
as  to  the  expense  of  transporting  eight  Germans  at  three 
cents  apiece,  produced  his  solitary  remaining  quarter. 
The  leader  took  it,  looked  at  it  with  fine  disdain,  and  then 
without  another  word  sent  it  ringing  down  the  corridor. 
Another  conference  with  his  band  followed,  and  he  then 
announced  that  if  the  management  would  pledge  itself 
to  turn  over  to  them  everything  thereafter  received  at  the 
doors,  they  would  go  on.  Gladly  giving  this  assurance, 
the  manager  joyfully  beheld  them  unpack,  tune  up, 
ascend  the  stairs  to  the  orchestra,  and  soon  after  burst 
into  a  melodious  overture  as  advertised  in  the  bills. 

The  plays  were  a  huge  success,  with  trifling  accidents 
not  worth  mentioning  in  estimating  the  performance  as 
a  whole.  The  company,  oblivious,  as  is  ever  the  case,  to 
the  distresses  of  the  management,  and  dead  letter  perfect 
in  their  parts,  rattled  off  their  lines  with  the  utmost 
confidence.  It  is  true  that  there  was  a  considerable  stage 
wait   when    the    Porter    in    "Macbeth"    ought    to    have 


28  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

responded  to  Macduff^ s  knocking  at  the  gate,  for  no  less 
a  person  than  the  manager  himself  had  been  cast  for  the 
Porter,  and  he  was  then  downstairs,  for  the  twentieth 
time  responding  to  the  inquiries  of  the  band  and  assuring 
them  that  no  more  money  had  been  acquired  from  any 
source  —  even  the  quarter  after  diligent  search  had  not 
been  recovered  ;  he  was  therefore  too  busy  persuading 
them  to  return  to  their  posts  to  think  of  his  own.  Mean- 
while the  knocking  of  Macduff  (played  by  Master  William 
Melville,  content  thus  to  support  the  Macbeth  of  Mr. 
Charles  Melville  in  consideration  of  similar  favors  to  be 
rendered  to  his  Toodles)  became  so  embarrassing  that 
Banquo,  supposedly  retired  to  rest  as  required  by  the  play, 
set  out  to  look  for  the  Porter,  found  him  at  a  crisis  with 
his  exigent  creditors,  and  received  the  order:  "Go  on 
yourself."  This  Banquo  boldly  did.  He  was  received 
by  the  audience  without  surprise,  the  din  Macduff  was 
keeping  up  at  door  C  being  considered  sufficient  to  rouse 
the  whole  castle.  Not  being  up  in  the  soliloquy  of  the 
Porter,  Banquo  simply  strode  to  the  portal  and,  with  be- 
coming loftiness  of  gesture,  flung  it  open.  Unfortunately, 
he  did  not  anticipate  that  the  noble  Macduff,  wondering  at 
the  delay,  might  be  applying  his  eye  to  the  crack  to  look 
for  the  cause  of  it,  and  would  be  likely  to  receive  the 
swinging  portal  full  on  the  nose  —  which  in  fact  he  did, 
and  appeared  wholly  disconcerted  by  the  violence  of  his 
reception. 

After  that,  however,  everything  went  smoothly. 
Toodles,  notwithstanding  his  mishap,  was  in  excellent 
form,  and  his  fooling  was  greatly  enjoyed.  The  inter- 
preters of  Bach  and  Beethoven  having  finally  lapsed  into 
hopeless  apathy,  worried  the  manager  no  more,  but  played 
to  the  end,  even  trying  to  accompany  Master  William 
Melville  in  his  comic  song,  with  the  disadvantages  of  no 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  29 

score  and  no  rehearsal.  The  happy  manager,  thus  re- 
lieved from  carking  care,  plunged  into  the  part  of  George 
Acorn^  which  he  played  with  great  fervor.  Good  Hafry 
Seymour  became  so  interested  in  the  whole  boyish  adven- 
ture —  unique  in  even  his  vast  and  varied  experience  — 
that  I  verily  believe  he  would  have  paid  eight  dollars 
rather  than  not  be  there  to  see,  and  to  have  ever  after 
the  pleasure  of  relating  what  he  had  seen.  The  young 
ladies,  who  were  cheerful  and  helpful  to  the  end,  were 
gallantly  escorted  to  their  homes  by  some  of  the  young 
Thespians,  but  I  doubt  if  they  ever  fully  recovered  from 
their  bewilderment.  As  for  the  manager,  having  given 
the  performance  as  announced  and  kept  faith  with  his 
public  to  the  letter,  overcome  every  difficulty,  and  helped 
the  carpenters  to  set  the  scenes  and  clear  the  stage  in 
the  intervals  of  hypnotizing  the  band  and  the  costumer, 
he  beamed  on  every  one,  distributed  his  commendations 
unsparingly,  and  went  home  with  me  triumphant,  to  act 
over  again  in  our  talks  with  the  boys  for  many  a  day  the 
varied  incidents  of  what  must  go  down  in  history  as  his 
first  public  attempt  at  management. 

The  next  year  (1857)  his  experience  of  dramatic  art 
was  immensely  enlarged  by  witnessing  the  greatest  light 
comedian  of  his  own  or  any  time,  Charles  Mathews,  upon 
his  return  to  America.  He  appeared  at  the  Broadway 
Theatre,  and  to  his  first  night  we  went  in  company  with 
the  future  Surrogate,  and  literally  fought  our  way  through 
a  vast  crowd.  No  watchful  policeman  kept  the  crowd  in 
line  at  the  box-ofllice  in  those  days.  Three  or  four  fists 
grasping  money  were  thrust  at  one  time  through  the  tiny 
aperture  in  the  boarded  window.  An  invisible  hand 
within  grasped  the  fists  in  turn  and  released  the  money 
from  the  fingers,  which  would  then  indicate  the  number  of 
tickets  required.     Tickets  and  change  would  by  the  same 


30  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

unseen  agent  be  then  enclosed  within  the  expectant  fingers, 
and  the  owner  would  back  away  after  a  terrific  struggle, 
and  often  with  serious  damage  to  his  wardrobe.  On  this 
occasion  our  young  friend  Arnold,  having  donned  a  new 
frock  coat,  buttoned  it  up  for  the  melee,  and  when  he  got 
to  his  seat  found  the  garment  had  been  split  up  the  back  ! 
But  a  little  thing  like  that  was  easily  forgotten  in  the  de- 
lights of  the  most  finished  impersonations  to  be  seen  on  the 
stage.  Mathews'  opening  bill  was  "  Married  for  Money  " 
and  "  Patter  vs.  Clatter,"  and  the  spirit  of  the  star  had  so 
animated  even  the  most  stolid  of  the  stock  company 
that  every  one  appeared  to  brilliant  advantage.  The 
butterfly  comedy  of  Mathews  was  a  revelation  to  the  new 
generation  accustomed  to  the  stateliness  of  Lester  Wallack 
and  Jordan.  In  Flutter  ("The  Belle's  Stratagem")  and 
Marplot  ("The  Busybody")  his  touch  was  light  as  fancy. 
And  now  (1859)  Augustin's  purpose  in  life  was  to  take 
definite  and  practical  shape.  With  all  his  love  for  the 
stage  he  had  not  made  any  attempt  to  enter  that  profession 
by  the  common  door;  nor  did  he,  in  taking  the  next  step 
in  his  career  in  another  profession,  do  so  with  any  cer- 
tainty as  to  where  it  would  lead.  When  he  attached 
himself  to  journalism,  it  was  with  an  undefined  sense  that 
it  led  to  the  way  he  was  to  go. 


CHAPTER   IV 

How  to  become  a  journalist.  And  dramatic  critic.  Daly's  first  posi- 
tions. The  Sunday  Courier.  Weekly  papers  of  the  period. 
Dramatic  reviewers.  William  Winter.  Daly's  integrity  gains 
him  appointment  to  the  same  post  on  five  New  York  papers  at  the 
same  time.  Tilts  between  managers  and  newspapers.  Between 
critics  and  managers.  What  to  avoid  in  criticism.  Perils  of 
reporters.  The  "Draft  Riot"  of  1863.  Daly  and  Howard  in  it. 
Howard's  ruse.  Daly's  boldness.  Panorama  of  amusements 
from  1859  to  1869.  Wallack's  trials.  Burton  retires.  Changes. 
Castle  Garden  becomes  an  emigrant  depot.  Tragic  stars.  For- 
rest, Davenport,  Edwin  Booth.  Charles  Kean.  Julia  Dean. 
Laura  Keene.  German  stars  appear  in  English.  Bandman  and 
his  phonetics.  Mrs.  Scheller.  Her  unfortunate  accident  as 
Pauline.  Mrs.  John  Wood  and  Joseph  Jefferson.  Charles  Wynd- 
ham  a  Civil  War  veteran.  Humpty  Dumpty  at  the  Olympic. 
Edwin  Booth  and  "  Richelieu  "  just  before  the  war.  Significant  lines. 
John  S.  Clarke  in  Bob  Tyke.  George,  the  Count  Joannes.  In- 
dicted as  a  common  barrator.  William  J.  Florence  and  Malvina 
Pray.  "Caste."  A  long  memory  defeats  a  lawsuit.  John  E. 
Owens  in  "Solon  Shingle,"  a  real  star  performance.  Madam 
Celeste.  The  Black  Crook.  The  Blondes.  Isabel  Cubas.  The 
magicians.  The  acrobats.  French  comedy.  Artemus  Ward. 
Adah  Isaacs  Menken  again.  Daly  no  Bohemian.  His  work  on 
the  press.  Stuart  Robson's  letter.  Charles  Fulton  and  Conway. 
Italian  opera.  Its  ups  and  downs.  English  opera.  Daly's  plea 
for  the  strolling  player. 

When  Daly  resolved  to  enter  the  profession  of  journalism, 
he  went  about  it  very  simply  and  directly.  Putting  in 
his  pocket  the  manuscript  of  a  couple  of  articles  he  had 
written  upon  some  amusing  local  incidents,  he  went  down 
to  the  neighborhood  of  Printing  House  Square,  where 
newspaper  offices  abounded.  As  James  Smith,  the 
editor  of  The  Sunday  Courier,  sat  in  his  sanctum  preparing 

31 


32  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

his  next  issue,  tliere  appeared  to  him  a  remarkably  hand- 
some and  ingenuous  youth  with  brilHant  eyes  and  dark 
curUng  hair,  whose  demeanor  was  modest,  notwithstanding 
the  burning  eagerness  with  which  he  announced  his 
business.  He  at  once  aroused  the  interest  of  Smith  and 
his  associate,  Charles  F.  Briggs,  formerly  editor  of  Put- 
narn's  Magazine,  and  a  writer  of  ability.  Not  long  ago 
I  heard  Parke  Godwin,  in  his  reminiscent  address  at  the 
Authors'  Club  on  the  occasion  of  the  celebration  of  his 
eighty-fifth  birthday,  speak  in  affectionate  and  appreci- 
ative terms  of  Briggs.  Another  of  the  proprietors  of 
the  Courier  took  an  immediate  liking  to  the  young  scribe. 
This  was  Douglas  Taylor,  printer  and  publisher,  a  power 
in  the  political  world  of  his  day  and  a  lifelong  patron  of 
the  drama. 

The  result  of  young  Daly's  visit  was  his  immediate  en- 
gagement upon  the  Courier  at  a  small  salary  as  general 
writer.  A  few  weeks  later  the  post  of  dramatic  critic 
became  vacant,  and  although  he  was  but  twenty-one 
years  old  he  was  promoted  to  it.  At  that  date  the  daily 
newspapers  published  no  Sunday  editions,  and  the  rela- 
tion of  the  Saturday  and  Sunday  journals  to  the  social, 
political,  literary,  and  art  worlds  was  important.  Their 
opinions  were  closely  scanned  by  the  interests  and  indi- 
viduals aflfected.  Complaints  of  bias  or  neglect  were 
not  infrequent.  One  great  daily  at  one  time  abolished 
its  dramatic  department  and  turned  over  dramatic  re- 
views to  a  succession  of  reporters  from  the  city  editor's 
staff.  The  weeklies,  however,  gave  their  writers  pretty 
much  a  free  hand.  Robert  Holmes,  Joseph  Howard, 
Edward  House,  Henry  Clapp,  Henry  Morford,  and  Morris 
Phillips  were  as  well  known  when  they  took  their  cus- 
tomary places  on  first  nights  as  their  brethren  of  the  great 
dailies,  among  whom  the  most  prominent  were  William 


THE   LIFE  OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  33 

Winter,  Edward  Wilkins,  A.  C.  Wheeler,  Seymour,  and 
Nicholson. 

Into  the  ranks  of  dramatic  critics  was  Daly  immedi- 
ately thrust.  His  case  was  unparalleled,  for  he  had  ab- 
solutely no  acquaintance  with  any  one  connected  with  the 
stage ;  but  his  reading  was  extensive  and  his  ideas  of  art 
definite.  His  crude  and  forcible  articles  over  the  name 
Le  Pelerin  soon  became  noted,  and  he  was  complimented 
by  the  attacks  of  rivals  with  whom  he  rejoiced  to  break 
a  lance.  For  ten  years  he  pursued  this  calling,  and  earned 
such  a  reputation  for  honesty  that  he  gradually  came  to 
be  employed  at  the  same  time  as  dramatic  critic  on  the  Sun^ 
the  Express^  the  Citizen,  and  the  Times,  always  retaining 
his  post  on  the  Courier.     This  also  was  unexampled. 

During  his  ten  years  of  journalism  he  became  an  in- 
dustrious and  successful  writer  of  plays  ;  but  though  one 
vocation  grew  out  of  the  other,  I  shall  keep  the  account 
of  them  separate,  as  both  led  by  separate  paths  to  the 
threshold  of  theatrical  management.  At  present  we  have 
to  see  what  befell  the  dramatic  critic. 

That  functionary  can  involve  his  paper  in  no  end  of 
trouble.  In  Daly's  time  certain  theatrical  managers 
organized  a  boycott  of  the  wealthiest  of  the  daily  papers 
on  account  of  the  tone  of  its  musical  criticisms.  The 
Academy  of  Music  led  the  war,  and  got  all  the  chief  play- 
houses as  allies.  They  took  their  advertisements  away 
from  the  foe  and  lavished  them  upon  the  other  papers. 
This  was  absurd  enough,  but  not  so  funny  as  it  was  to 
read  the  praises  bestowed  by  the  great  daily  upon  the 
little  establishments  that  stood  by  it.  Reason,  however, 
soon  resumed  its  sway,  and  the  quarrel  was  healed.  Soon 
the  boot  was  on  the  other  foot.  A  querulous  critic  or- 
ganized his  fraternity  against  one  of  the  principal  theatres 
to  avenge  some  personal  slight.     That  campaign  did  not 


34  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

last  long,  and  was  not  so  bitter  as  the  managers'  war. 
I  remember  In  the  chorus  at  the  Academy  when  the 
"villagers"  in  the  opera  promenaded  the  stage  with  a 
figure  dressed  to  represent  the  proprietor  of  the  great 
daily,  with  his  hand  stretched  behind  him  to  Indicate  an 
"itching  palm." 

During  Augustln's  newspaper  experience  occurred  the 
"Draft  Riot"  in  New  York.  At  the  outbreak  of  the 
Civil  War  the  President  asked  for  seventy-five  thousand 
volunteers  to  preserve  the  Union.  A  million  offered  them- 
selves, only  to  be  dismissed  as  unnecessary.  Two  years 
later,  in  1863,  conscription  had  to  be  resorted  to,  and  un- 
til the  State  at  the  request  of  the  municipal  authorities 
authorized  an  appropriation  for  bounties  to  procure  sub- 
stitutes, the  administration  was  exceedingly  unpopular 
with  the  masses  who  were  likely  to  suffer  from  the  con- 
scription. A  short  reign  of  terror  commenced  in  July, 
1863,  when  the  New  York  City  militia  had  been  hurriedly 
sent  to  protect  the  Capitol  at  Washington.  Only  the 
local  police  were  left  to  cope  with  the  bands  of  incendi- 
aries and  terrorists  that  roamed  the  streets.  As  may  be 
supposed,  all  the  young  newspaper  men  were  in  the 
thickest  of  the  disturbances,  looking  for  material.  In 
company  with  Joseph  Howard,  Jr.  (then  a  reporter  on  the 
Tribune)  young  Daly  found  himself  surrounded  by  a 
mob  on  Second  Avenue  near  a  beleaguered  fire-engine 
house.  Both  the  journalists  wore  broad-brimmed  black 
soft  felt  hats  of  the  kind  known  as  "wide-awakes," 
much  affected  (together  with  flowing  locks)  by  the 
litterateurs  of  the  period,  but  unfortunately  associated 
in  the  minds  of  the  mob  with  a  lately  defunct  anti-foreign 
faction  called  "Know-Nothings,"  and  with  the  anti- 
slavery  newspapers  which  were  supposed  to  be  responsible 
for  the  war  and  all  its  consequences. 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  35 

When  therefore  our  adventurers  were  descried,  the 
mob,  which  had  been  threatening  the  engine-house  after 
looting  and  burning  in  every  direction,  shouted  "Know- 
Nothings!"  "Tribune  reporters!"  Howard,  who  was 
a  resourceful  youth,  sought  to  pacify  the  crowd  by  ex- 
plaining that  he  was  simply  deputized  by  Ben  Wood  of 
the  News  to  give  that  friendly  paper  a  truthful  version  of 
the  facts.  As  Mr.  Benjamin  Wood  and  his  paper,  the 
Daily  News,  were  known  Southern  sympathizers,  it  was 
an  ingenious  fib ;  but  the  mob  derided  the  speaker,  and 
might  soon  have  made  an  end  of  both  young  men  if  the 
members  of  the  fire  company  had  not  sallied  from  their 
house,  dragged  the  imperilled  youths  inside,  and  locked 
the  doors.  This  act  redoubled  the  rage  of  the  mob  against 
the  rescuers.  Ordinarily  the  gallant  volunteer  fire  de- 
partment was  the  most  popular  institution  in  the  City, 
but  now  the  mob  resented  the  zeal  of  the  department  in 
rushing  to  extinguish  the  incendiary  fires  that  sprang 
up  in  every  quarter.  The  door  of  the  engine-house 
threatened  to  give  way.  My  brother,  preferring  to  be 
killed  in  the  open  rather  than  slaughtered  like  a  rat  in  a 
hole,  insisted  upon  being  let  out.  His  generous  captors, 
with  much  misgiving,  but  yielding  to  his  commands, 
opened  the  door  sufficiently  to  thrust  him  forth,  and 
instantly  closed  and  locked  it  again  —  but  unfortunately 
with  the  tail  of  his  coat  caught  fast  by  it !  This  acci- 
dent turned  out  to  be  his  salvation ;  for  when  he  im- 
mediately turned  and  hammered  at  the  door  to  be  re- 
leased, the  nearest  mob  leaders  mistook  his  act,  coupled 
with  his  expulsion,  as  a  demonstration  in  their  behalf. 
And  when  he  finally  tore  himself  free  and  faced  them  with 
looks  more  furious  than  their  own,  they  made  way  for 
him  to  depart  and  turned  to  renew  their  assaults  upon 
the  door.     When  he  got  to  the  outskirts  of  the  crowd  and 


36  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

was  walking  away  in  his  disordered  costume,  a  friendly 
mechanic  advised  him  to  take  off  his  coat  and  carry  it 
over  his  arm  for  fear  some  other  mob  would  take  him 
for  an  escaped  draft-officer  and  "finish  the  job."  Fol- 
lowing the  advice,  Augustin  walked  home  d  la  Mose  in 
"Life  in  New  York."  As  for  the  men  inside  the  engine- 
house,  the  attention  of  the  mob  was  soon  diverted  to 
some  other  quarter  and  the  siege  was  raised. 

The  panorama  of  the  theatres  as  it  unrolled  before 
the  young  journalist  can  be  briefly  sketched.  Wallack 
moved  his  theatre  from  Broome  Street  to  Thirteenth, 
and  immediately  got  into  straits  from  which  only  the 
indulgence  of  his  creditors  saved  him.  His  example  in 
retrieving  his  fortunes  shows  the  advantage  of  a  trained 
company.  Opening  with  a  failure  in  modern  comedy,  he 
fell  back  upon  old  comedy  with  success.  In  the  course 
of  his  progress  he  produced  melodrama  and  the  gossamer 
pieces  of  Robertson,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  catch  the 
popular  tide  during  the  visit  of  Dickens  in  1867  by  re- 
viving a  dramatization  of  "Oliver  Twist."  Nothing  was 
foreign  to  his  stage  that  could  be  done  well.  His  pred- 
ecessor Burton,  after  moving  up  from  Chambers  Street 
to  the  vicinity  of  Bond,  retired  for  good.  The  Astor 
Place  Opera  House  was  converted  Into  the  Mercantile 
Library,  and  Castle  Garden  into  an  immigrant  depot 
(the  new  Academy  of  Music  on  Fourteenth  Street  having 
become  the  home  of  Italian  opera).  The  Broadway  The- 
atre was  soon  dismantled  for  business  purposes. 

The  stage  then  was  never  without  a  tragic  star.  For- 
rest's glory  was  setting,  Davenport's  at  its  zenith,  and 
Edwin  Booth's  rising.  Charles  Kean  and  Ellen  Tree 
revisited  America.  Julia  Dean,  Matilda  Heron,  Char- 
lotte Cushman,  and  our  foreign  visitors  Janauschek  and 
Ristori  brightened  the  sky.     Over  Julia  Dean,  one  of  the 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  37 

dear  daughters  of  memory,  we  may  linger  a  moment. 
As  boys  we  saw  her  in  "Tortesa  the  Usurer,"  and  as  we 
walked  home  Augustin  said,  "Some  day  I  shall  write  a 
play  for  her!"  When  he  became  famous  in  after  years, 
she  asked  for  that  play.  In  the  meantime  she  had  gone 
through  much  trouble,  but  without  losing  her  delicate 
charm.  Her  first  marriage  was  a  misfortune.  After- 
wards she  became  the  wife  of  James  Cooper.  In  reply 
to  a  note  from  Augustin  on  the  subject  of  the  play,  came 
the  announcement  from  Walter  Cooper  of  her  death  in 
childbed:^  "My  brother  feels  confident  that  you  will 
write  ^  in  kindness,  and  has  reason  to  know  that  you  were 
inspired  by  a  warmth  of  friendship  of  no  cold  or  common 
order  for  her  who  is  no  more." 

Laura  Keene  (who  was  brought  from  England  by 
Wallack)  left  him  suddenly  one  day,  and  when  she  re- 
turned to  New  York  Trimble  the  architect  built  a  the- 
atre for  her,  in  which  she  brought  out  "Our  American 
Cousin,"  with  Jefferson  as  Asa  Trenchard  and  Sothern 
as  Lord  Dundreary.  Notwithstanding  many  attractive 
productions  she  failed,  and  became  a  wandering  star. 
To  conquer  in  the  field  of  management  requires  the  gift 
of  a  Wellington,  not  of  a  Napoleon.  Whenever  we  hear 
a  young  manager  hailed  as  a  Napoleon,  we  ought  to 
tremble  for  his  future. 

Nearly  all  the  German  artists  attempted  the  English- 
speaking  stage.  Daniel  Bandman  showed  Augustin  his 
scheme  for  mastering  the  inflections  of  the  English  speech 
by  interlining  his  part  with  a  phonetic  version.  Madam 
Methua-Scheller,  a  charming  actress  of  sentimental  parts, 
achieved  the  distinction  of  supporting  Edwin  Booth  as 
Ophelia,  and  also,  on  one  occasion,  of  assisting  in  a  cu- 
rious presentation  of  "  Othello  "  with  Bogumil  Dawison  (in 

*  March  6,  1868.  *  An  obituary. 


38  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

German),  Booth  (in  English),  and  herself  (in  German- 
American).  She  was  engaged  by  William  Wheatley  for  an 
important  revival  of  "The  Lady  of  Lyons"  at  Niblo's,  in 
which  he  appeared  as  Claude  Melnotte.  The  fiasco  of 
the  first  night  was  due  to  Wheatley's  taking  the  center 
of  the  stage  in  the  last  scene  and  forcing  Pauline  (down 
at  the  left  with  her  back  to  the  audience)  to  rush  to  his 
arms  when  he  threw  off  his  cloak  and  revealed  his  iden- 
tity. The  poor  lady  did  rush,  tripped  over  her  bridal 
gown,  and  pitched  head  foremost  at  his  feet  with  her  own 
soles  in  the  air.  The  petrified  figure  of  the  amazed 
Claude,  as  he  stood  with  outstretched  arms  and  looked 
helplessly  at  the  wreck  at  his  feet,  was  too  much  for  the 
risibilities  of  the  audience,  and  a  mighty  roar  of  laughter 
went  up,  notwithstanding  the  real  sympathy  felt  for 
poor  Pauline  as  she  was  carefully  assisted  to  a  seat,  her 
bridal  wreath  straightened,  and  her  pretty  nose  inspected 
for  damage. 

When  Laura  Keene  left  her  theatre,  Mr.  John  Duff 
took  it  to  give  Mrs.  John  Wood  the  management  and  his 
friend  Joseph  Jeff"erson  a  permanent  footing.  This  was 
the  day  of  infinitely  amusing  burlesques,  in  which  Mrs. 
Wood  and  Jeff'erson  were  unsurpassable.  The  accom- 
plished Charles  Wyndham  was  in  this  company.  When 
he  first  came  to  America,  he  joined  the  Union  Army  and 
served  in  many  engagements  during  the  Civil  War. 
After  Mrs.  John  Wood  left  the  Olympic  (as  the  theatre 
was  now  called)  the  pantomimist  George  L.  Fox  was 
brought  from  the  Bowery,  and  the  long  reign  of  "Humpty 
Dumpty"  began. 

Edwin  Booth  began  a  memorable  engagement  before 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War.  This  was  at  the  Winter 
Garden,  formerly  the  Metropolitan  Theatre.  The  incli- 
nation of  the  great  mass  of  Northerners  was  for  peace 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  39 

and  a  resort  to  diplomacy  to  calm  the  excited  South,  and 
the  significant  lines  of  the  aged  Cardinal  Richelieu  to  his 
page :  "Take  away  the  sword  —  States  can  be  saved 
without  it!"  evoked  thunders  of  applause.  At  a  later 
date,  when  all  efforts  at  adjustment  had  failed  and  the 
Northern  spirit  was  roused  to  arms,  the  same  applause 
was  awarded  to  a  still  more  striking  phrase  from  the  same 
lips  in  the  same  play  :  "First  employ  all  methods  to  con- 
ciliate;  failing  those  —  all  means  to  crush!"  A  notable 
production  of  Booth  was  "Julius  Caesar,"  given  in  1864 
by  the  three  Booth  brothers  in  aid  of  the  fund  for  the 
erection  of  the  Shakespeare  monument  in  Central  Park. 
Edwin  was  Brutus,  Junius,  Cassius,  and  John  Wilkes,  the 
fiery  Inheritor  of  their  father's  rash  and  uncontrollable 
spirit,  assumed  the  role  of  the  impetuous  Mark  Antony. 

A  prominent  star  at  the  Winter  Garden  was  Booth's 
brother-in-law,  John  S.  Clarke,  whose  Toodles  and  Major 
de  Boots  were  extravagantly  humorous.  Clarke,  like  the 
famous  Robson  of  London,  who  unexpectedly  revealed  in 
burlesque  an  unsuspected  depth  of  emotion,  proved  that 
a  strong  dramatic  instinct  is  the  foundation  of  the  comic 
power.  He  revived  an  old  play,  "  The  School  of  Reform  " 
and  appeared  as  the  ruffian  Boh  Tyke.  His  impersonation 
deserved  more  attention  than  it  then  received  from  the 
press  generally ;  but  it  did  not  pass  without  critical  ap- 
preciation from  Daly,  for  which  the  manager  Stuart  (an 
old  journalist  and  critic)  wrote  his  thanks. 

Among  the  theatrical  apparitions  of  the  time  was  the 
grotesque  figure  of  George,  the  Count  Joannes,  as  the 
old-time  actor  George  Jones  styled  himself  when,  after 
an  absence  of  years  in  Europe,  he  returned  to  America. 
He  and  his  wife  Melinda  were  once  (183 1)  considerable 
favorites  with  the  public.  He  built  the  Avon  Theatre 
in   Norfolk,   Virginia.     When    he   suddenly   appeared   in 


40  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

America  as  a  "Count,"  it  was  seen  that  he  had  become 
quite  unbalanced,  but  that  he  possessed  a  keen  wit,  ex- 
tensive superficial  acquirements,  and  an  amazing  flow  of 
language.  He  intruded  himself  upon  every  public  oc- 
casion until  he  was  noticed  ironically  in  the  papers,  and 
then  he  turned  upon  them  with  prosecutions  for  libel  and 
conducted  his  own  cases,  in  order,  it  was  easily  seen,  to 
display  his  forensic  aptitude.  One  of  these  actions  was 
brought  against  the  Tribune  in  the  old  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  presided  over  by  Judge  Charles  P.  Daly.  The 
Count  (who  was  never  satisfied  to  call  himself  an  at- 
torney at  law,  but  "counsellor  of  the  Supreme  Court") 
prosecuted  in  person  and  managed  by  his  dexterity  to 
confound  the  opposition,  irritate  the  witnesses,  and  annoy 
the  Court,  After  several  such  suits,  however,  he  was  ar- 
raigned as  a  common  barrator^  or  incitor  of  litigation,  and 
was  effectually  quieted  as  a  litigant.  While  the  novelty 
of  his  eccentricities  lasted  he  was  found  to  be  a  capital 
companion  at  dinner,  and  discussed  all  subjects  in  theol- 
ogy, politics,  and  art  with  equal  confidence  and  brilliancy. 
His  last  resort  was  to  the  stage  again,  where  he  cut  a 
ludicrous  figure  and  was  unmercifully  guyed  by  boister- 
ous audiences.  The  late  E.  A.  Sothern  impersonated  his 
eccentricities  in  an  amusing  sketch  called  "The  Crushed 
Tragedian."  A  sane  man  gifted  with  Jones'  abilities  could 
have  made  his  mark  in  any  profession. 

As  early  as  1862  the  excellent  actor  William  J.  Florence 
and  his  spirited  wife  (Malvina  Pray)  abandoned  the  old- 
fashioned  "Irish  Boy  and  Yankee  Gal"  parts  and  began 
better  work.  His  Cap^n  Cuttle  and  her  Susa?i  Nipper 
were  excellent.  His  production  of  Robertson's  "Caste" 
at  Wallack's  old  house  was  a  benefit  to  the  profession. 
It  served  to  display  as  an  artist  of  the  highest  type 
Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert,  Florence  himself  as  a  pleasing  sur- 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  41 

prise  in  light  comedy  and  as  a  skilful  stage  manager, 
and  Owen  Marlowe  as  a  superior  "swell"  in  Hawtrey. 
The  greatest  surprise,  however,  was  the  claim  that  the 
manager  had  been  able  to  reproduce  the  play  from  mem- 
ory after  hearing  and  seeing  it  a  number  of  times  in 
London.  This  claim  defeated  the  attempt  of  Wallack, 
who  had  the  American  rights  from  the  English  proprietors 
(but  no  copyright),  to  enjoin  the  production  as  a  piracy 
of  an  unpublished  play.  Florence's  plea  was  sceptically 
regarded  at  the  time,  but  considering  an  actor's  power  of 
committing  to  memory  the  longest  part,  it  was  hardly 
open  to  question. 

In  contrast  to  this  excellent  play  and  admirable  com- 
pany was  the  greater  success  of  John  E.  Owens  as  Solon 
Shingle  in  the  trumpery  drama  "The  People's  Lawyer," 
with  an  indiflferent  company.  Not  even  Sothern  in 
Dundreary  made  such  a  success  as  this  eminently  "star" 
performance  and  its  amazingly  lifelike  picture  of  an  aged 
sodden  village  teamster. 

Madam  Celeste  was  here  again  from  London,  in  "The 
French  Spy,"  with  all  her  former  grace  and  agility,  but 
alas  !  all  mechanical  now.  Lotta  came  to  us  from  Cali- 
fornia, and  Maggie  Mitchell  acquired  fame  as  the  sprite- 
like Fanchon.  William  Horace  Lingard  gave  huge  audi- 
ences "Captain  Jinks  of  the  Horse  Marines,"  while  his 
talented  helpmeet  sparkled  in  burletta.  Then  "The 
Black  Crook"  intoxicated  playgoers  and  brought  train- 
loads  of  people  from  every  point  of  the  compass  to  see 
Bonfanti,  Sangalli,  and  Rigl  and  a  hundred  pretty  cory- 
phees ;  the  ballet  troupe  had  been  brought  over  by  Jar- 
rett  and  Palmer  to  open  in  the  Academy  of  Music  in 
"La  Biche  au  Bois,"  but  the  Academy  burnt  down,  and 
Wheatley  of  Niblo's  incorporated  the  ballet  with  a 
melodrama,   "The  Black    Crook,"  which  George  Barras 


42  THE  LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

had  just  written.  Jarrett  deplored  the  attacks  made 
upon  the  play,  which  was  declared  unfit  for  ladies  to 
visit ;  he  wrote  to  Daly  (as  a  newspaper  editor)  that  a 
careful  count  of  one  night  showed  that  of  2973  spec- 
tators 1345  were  ladies  —  a  complete  refutation  of  the 
calumny. 

Soon  the  "British  Blondes,"  as  the  company  playing 
"Ixion"  was  called,  irradiated  the  town;  Miss  Lydia 
Thompson,  Miss  Lisa  Weber,  and  Miss  Pauline  Mark- 
ham,  with  one  real  actress,  Miss  Ada  Harland,  and  a 
capital  comedian,  Harry  Beckett,  were  the  attractions  that 
filled  Wood's  Broadway  Theatre.  Then  the  Kiralfys, 
Hungarian  dancers  of  athletic  type,  claimed  public  notice  ; 
and  Isabel  Cubas  the  Spanish  dancer,  with  flaming  eyes, 
dazzling  teeth  revealed  in  an  eager  smile,  and  sinuously 
moving  arms.  Nightly  the  original  Hermann,  prestidigita- 
teur  (who  curtly  replied  to  a  spectator  who  wished  to  put 
his  "second  sight"  exhibition  to  an  unexpected  test,  "Sir, 
I  am  not  de  debbil !"),  shot  single  cards  from  a  pack  in  his 
hand  to  the  top  gallery  with  a  single  eflFort  of  his  power- 
ful wrist.  Robert  Heller  came  after  him  with  a  different 
style,  —  the  "Magicien  Farceur."  An  oddity  in  the- 
atricals of  the  time  was  the  illusion  named  after  its  in- 
ventor, "Pepper's  Ghost."  Plays  were  altered  to  intro- 
duce the  trick. 

French  comedy  was  imported  by  Paul  Juignet  and 
exhibited  in  Niblo's  Saloon,  a  concert  hall  attached  to  the 
Garden,  and  here  "Artemus  Ward"  (Charles  F.  Brown) 
made  his  first  appearance.  He  began  by  displaying,  like 
Josh  Billings  (Mr.  Shaw),  the  beauties  of  simplified  spell- 
ing, then  essayed  the  platform.  From  England  in  1866 
he  wrote  to  Daly  that  he  was  engaged  by  Punch  for  a 
series  of  papers,  "Artemus  Ward  in  London,"  and  gave 
Mr.    Howard    Paul    a    characteristic    introduction :     "At 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  43 

Rochester  they  label  their  best  flour  XXX;  Mr.  Paul  is 
a  triple  Xer.  Trooly  yours,  A.  Ward."  Miss  Adah  Isaacs 
Menken  took  pains  to  write  to  Daly  that  the  report  of 
her  engagement  to  Artemus  was  incorrect,  and  Ward 
himself  wrote  vaguely  :    "It  won't  do  to  be  married." 

Miss  Menken  was  a  steady  correspondent  of  the  dra- 
matic editors,  who  were  all  enrolled  as  "chums"  and 
"pals."  In  London  she  made  her  debut  at  Astleys, 
and  wrote  that  all  the  Bohemians,  critics,  and  authors 
"are  old  men,  but  quite  jolly."  She  had  ambition. 
Having  made  fame  for  herself  in  tights  as  Mazeppa,  she 
yearned  to  play  Rosalind,  Beatrice,  Bianca,  Julia,  Par- 
thenia,  and  Lady  Gray;  "all  of  which"  (she  wrote)  "I 
once  revelled  in."  At  one  time  she  confided  that  Ada 
Clare  was  translating  a  vaudeville  from  the  French  to  be 
called  "The  Courtship  and  Marriage  of  Adah  Isaacs 
Menken"  —  "but  of  course,"  she  naively  added,  "it  con- 
tains nothing  actually  relating  to  my  life." 

Among  the  Bohemians  Daly  was  never  classed.  He 
could  neither  smoke  nor  drink,  and  had  no  taste  for  gos- 
sip. His  work  was  praised  by  Henry  J.  Raymond,  by 
Erastus  Brooks,  by  Robert  B.  Roosevelt,  and  by  Charles 
G.  Halpin  (Miles  O'Reilly).  It  was  watched  by  "the 
profession,"  as  one  letter  shows  : 

"St.  James,  Suffolk  Co.,  L.  I. 
Friday,  July  19",  1867. 
My  dear  Sir 

As  an  humble  member  of  the  theatrical  profession  allow  me 
to  thank  you  for  the  very  kind  article  in  yesterday's  'Times' 
denouncing  the  general  practice  of  classing  all  females  who  per- 
form in  concert  saloons  and  other  like  places  as  'actresses.' 
It  is  certainly  very  unfair  and  disrespectful  to  a  profession  which 
contributes  so  much  to  lighten  the  hours  of  the  people,  and  I 
cannot  help  thanking  you  in  the  name  of  my  companions  for 


44  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

your  generosity  in  calling  the  attention  of  the  public  to  its 
Injustice.  So  many  annoyances  of  this  nature  have  come  under 
my  observation,  and  your  notice  so  entirely  reflects  the  feeling 
of  my  brethren,  that  I  cannot  resist  the  impulse  of  expressing 
my  gratitude. 

With  best  wishes  for  your  prosperity  and  health,  I  remain 

Respectfully, 
Yours  &c. 

Stuart  Robson." 

Chandos  Fulton  was  one  of  his  early  friends  on  the 
press  and  a  great  crony  of  F.  B.  Conway,  who  with  his 
wife  managed  the  Brooklyn  Theatre,  the  first  regular 
playhouse  in  that  city.  Conway  was  immense  on  de- 
portment. He  used  to  describe  the  respective  depart- 
ments of  Mrs.  Conway  and  himself  as  "  practical  business  " 
(his  wife's)  and  "belles  lettres"  (his  own).  He  and 
Fulton  had  the  misfortune  to  be  taken  down  at  the  same 
time  with  a  long  illness,  during  which  they  exchanged 
friendly  inquiries.  Fulton,  being  the  younger,  got  out 
first  and  went  to  see  Conway,  who  had  just  begun  to  sit 
up.  "How  did  you  manage  to  spend  the  — -ah  —  tedium 
of  convalescence.?"  asked  Conway.  "Oh,  In  a  variety  of 
simple  ways,"  replied  Fulton.  "Renewing  the  —  ah  — 
pleasures  of  the  —  ah  —  table.?"  "Oh,  no."  "Resorting 
to  the  —  ah  —  solace  of  the  —  ah  —  bottle  .?"  "Oh  dear 
no.  I  simply  sat  at  the  window  and  drank  In  the  joys 
of  nature."  "Good  Gad!"  observed  Conway,  "death 
were  preferable!" 

Music  as  well  as  the  drama  was  within  the  sphere  of 
the  general  theatrical  critic.  At  the  Academy,  Gassier, 
Gazzanlga,  Medorl,  Colson,  PattI,  Nllssen,  Tietjens, 
FabbrI,  Kellogg,  D'AngrI,  Phillips,  PIccolomIni,  Lorini, 
Van  Zandt,  Testa,  Hinckley,  and  McCullogh  were 
heard,    and    Guerrabella,    who    afterwards    resumed    her 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  45 

maiden  name  Genevieve  Ward  and  adopted  the  dramatic 
stage.  The  impresarios  were  Maretzek,  Ullman,  Grau, 
Strakosch,  Rosa,  and  Grover.  Brignoli  ruled  in  popular 
favor  for  years  with  Susini,  Barili,  Fornes,  Mazzoleni, 
Ronconi,  Rovere,  and  Habelmann,  Operatic  manage- 
ment was  always  risky.  In  i860  Ullman  gave  it  up  for 
want  of  patronage  and  published  a  card  to  let  the  public 
know  why.  His  singers  then  formed  the  "associated 
Artists"  and  gave  a  couple  of  seasons  upon  their  own 
responsibility. 

When  Italian  opera  was  sung  at  the  Astor  Place  Opera 
House,  Maretzek  actually  came  down  to  fifty  cents  ad- 
mission to  the  boxes  and  twenty-five  to  the  circle ;  but 
even  such  bargain  days  did  not  bring  a  rush.  Even  in 
the  days  of  the  Academy  there  were  independent  impre- 
sarios. Jacob  Grau  took  Lorini,  Castri,  and  Morensi  to 
Niblo's  and  Maretzek  took  Kellogg,  Stockton,  Testa 
and  Ronconi,  and  Amelia  Houck  to  the  Winter  Garden. 
Carl  Anschutz  gave  German  opera  with  Johanssen  and 
Rotter  at  Wallack's  little  old  theatre,  and  German  song 
birds  once  carolled  in  the  Olympic. 

Opera  in  English  was  recurrent  and  popular.  After 
Caroline  Richings  in  "The  Enchantress,"  the  charming 
Louisa  Pyne  with  Harrison  gave  us  Balfe,  and  once,  for 
her  benefit,  a  revival  of  "Midas,"  in  which  she  was  a 
sightly  Apollo.  Miss  Kellogg  and  Mrs.  Seguin  came 
after  them.  Gabriel  Harrison,  unknown  now  but  once 
prominent  in  every  field  of  amusement,  managed  an 
English  opera  troupe,  of  which  Mary  Shaw,  Castle,  and 
Campbell  were  principals ;  and  his  comedian  was  no  less 
a  person  than  Theodore  Thomas !  French  opera  was 
practically  introduced  by  Bateman  in  the  Fourteenth 
Street  Theatre  with  Tostee.  Paul  Juignet  added  the 
risks  of  French  opera  to  those  of  French  comedy.     When 


46  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

Daly  managed  his  first  theatre,  he  had  Juignet  for  a  sea- 
son as  stage  manager. 

Daly  in  his  ten  years  as  reviewer  developed  a  profound 
sympathy  for  all  who  were  struggling  along  by-paths  as 
well  as  on  the  highroad.  I  happened  once  to  tell  of  a 
poor  little  travelling  company  that  visited  the  village 
near  which  my  happiest  holidays  were  spent,  and  how  my 
host,  Judge  Robinson,  and  I  led  pretty  nearly  the  whole 
population  to  the  show.  Augustin  said:  "I'm  glad! 
Wherever  you  may  be  always  patronize  the  poor  players." 


CHAPTER  V 

Daly's  first  play:  "Leah  the  Forsaken."  Kate  Bateman.  Her 
parents.  Successful  performance  in  Boston.  Production  in  New 
York.  Received  warmly  by  the  audience.  Unknown  author 
attacked  by  critics.  Defended  by  Wilkes'  Spirit.  George  Wil- 
liam Curtis's  praise.  He  sees  an  historical  parallel  and  a  national 
lesson.  Played  in  London.  Miss  Bateman's  account  of  the  first 
night.  She  sees  Ristori  in  the  German  original.  Naive  criticism. 
Daly  sues  Bateman  pere.  A.  Oakey  Hall  his  counsel.  Report  of 
Hall's  summing  up  from  memory.  Account  of  Hall  and  of  his 
subsequent  troubles  and  victory.  Next  play  "Taming  a  Butter- 
fly." Frank  Wood,  collaborator.  Written  for  Mrs.  John  Wood. 
Burlesque  of  "Leah."  Third  play,  written  for  Mrs.  Methua- 
Scheller.  "Lorlie's  Wedding."  Miss  Avonia  Jones  at  the  Winter 
Garden  —  "Judith"  by  Daly  and  Paul  Nicholson.  Daly  adapts 
"La  Sorciere"  for  her.     Her  letter  describing  her  favorite  parts. 

No  dramatic  critic  lives  who  has  not  been  tempted  to 
write  a  play.  Daly  began  with  a  drama  of  contempo- 
raneous events.  Within  a  week  after  news  of  the  attempt 
of  Orsini  and  his  confederates  upon  the  life  of  Napoleon 
III  reached  New  York,  a  play  on  the  subject  was  in  the 
hands  of  Laura  Keene.  It  was  politely  returned,  and  laid 
away.  Three  years  later  the  author  produced  one  of 
the  most  successful  dramas  of  the  century. 

Kate  Bateman  and  her  sister  Ellen,  now  grown  to 
womanhood,  had  been  the  famous  Bateman  children, 
precocious  impersonators  of  Richard  III  and  other  mature 
parts.  Such  prodigies  were  commoner  then  than  now. 
Scarcely  two  generations  before,  Master  Betty  was  the 
talk  of  London ;  a  little  later  Clara  Fisher  crowded  the 
New  York  theatres,  and  after  that  the  Marsh  children 

47 


48  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

were  a  great  attraction.  Mrs.  Bateman  was  a  dramatic 
writer  of  ability  and  Mr.  Bateman  an  experienced  actor 
and  manager.  He  was  looking  for  a  play  suitable  for  his 
daughter  Kate,  whose  dramatic  power  developed  with 
her  years,  an  unusual  case  with  child  prodigies.  Just 
now  Mosenthal  electrified  Vienna  with  his  "Deborah," 
a  play  representing  the  persecution  of  Jews  in  the  sev- 
enteenth century  by  one  class  of  the  community,  and  the 
Christian  charity  of  another  class.  A  German  friend  men- 
tioned this  play  to  Bateman  and  he  suggested  it  to  Daly, 
who  procured  a  copy,  had  it  hastily  and  roughly  translated, 
perceived  at  once  its  theatrical  value,  and  adapted  it  for 
performance  in  English.  The  Batemans  were  delighted 
with  it.  Mrs.  Bateman,  who  later  compared  the  adapta- 
tion with  the  original,  expressed  her  satisfaction  that  the 
most  applauded  line  in  it  was  Daly's  and  notMosenthal's. 

Bateman  staked  all  his  means  and  practically  his 
daughter's  fortunes  on  the  play,  engaged  an  expensive 
company,  brought  it  out  in  Boston  ^  under  the  name  of 
"Leah  the  Forsaken,"  and  telegraphed  to  Daly  the  news 
of  its  immediate  success.  The  ensuing  month  it  was 
presented  at  Niblo's  Garden  ^  to  an  audience  that  over- 
flowed the  house.  Miss  Bateman,  then  in  her  first  youth- 
ful vigor,  played  with  tenderness,  pathos,  and  dignity, 
and  was  assisted  by  the  veteran  James  W.  Wallack,  Jr., 
young  Edwin  Adams,  the  beautiful  Mrs.  Chanfrau, 
J.  G.  Barrett,  J.  W.  Lanergan,  Edward  Lamb,  and  Mrs. 
Skerrett.  That  night  Daly  heard  for  the  first  time  his 
lines  spoken  on  the  stage. 

The  young  journalist  eagerly  scanned  the  newspapers 
for  the  verdict  of  his  fellow  critics.  The  name  of  the 
author  had  not  been  announced  by  Bateman  for  fear  of 
"trade"   jealousy,  and   Daly  kept  away  from   rehearsals 

1  Dec.  8,  1862.  ^  Jan.  19,  1863. 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  49 

accordingly.  These  precautions  were,  however,  unavail- 
ing. The  translation  and  adaptation  were  attacked 
ferociously;  the  mildest  reviews  suggested  that  the  book 
be  entirely  rewritten.  But  a  champion  arose, ^  and  in  a 
comprehensive  article  ascribed  the  adverse  criticism  to 
literary  jealousy,  and  asserted  that  the  most  eflfective 
parts  of  the  dialogue  were  those  in  idiomatic  English. 

The  most  conspicuous  advocate  of  the  play  was  George 
William  Curtis,  editor  of  Harper^s  Weekly,  who  wrote 
about  it  in  the  fifth  week  of  its  run.^  He  beheld  in  it  an 
appeal  for  another  down-trodden  race  on  whose  account 
a  great  civil  war  was  then  raging.  "It  is  an  English 
adaptation  of  a  German  sensational  drama,  and  there 
never  was  a  more  timely  play.  As  a  simple  sensational 
performance  it  is  remarkable.  The  play  is  wrought  in 
bold,  coarse  strokes.  There  is  never  any  doubt  as  to  its 
meaning,"  The  writer  finds  a  parallel  between  the 
class  hatred  depicted  and  that  which  he  thought  threat- 
ened the  destruction  of  the  nation,  and  concludes  :  "When- 
ever and  wherever  you  can,  go  and  see  "  Leah  "  and  have 
the  lesson  burned  in  upon  your  mind  which  may  save 
the  national  life  and  honor." 

It  was  not  necessary  to  appeal  to  patriotic  or  to  political 
sentiment  to  make  the  play  one  of  the  most  popular  of 
modern  dramas.  It  was  played  throughout  this  country 
and  in  England,  and  has  ever  since  been  the  vehicle  for 
essays  of  female  histrionic  ambition.  It  was  not  re- 
written by  Daly.  Minor  critics  might  condemn  the  in- 
elegance of  its  lines,  but  the  public,  like  Curtis  and  other 
men  of  mark,  appreciated  the  "bold  coarse  strokes"  that 
reached  their  mark.  Daly  wrote  to  Mosenthal  and  sent 
him  a  copy  of  the  adaptation,  receiving  a  most  friendly 
reply  approving  of  his  work  in  adapting  a  German  "peo- 

1  Wilkes'  Spirit.  "  March  7,  1863. 


50  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

pie's  play"  to  another  nation.  The  young  tragedienne  — 
then  scarce  twenty  years  old  —  wrote  to  Daly  an  account 
of  her  first  performance  of  the  play  in  London  : 

"London,  Oct.  6' 
My  dear  friend. 

Please  take  a  walk  down  to  the  Park,  extend  your  hands  tow- 
ards the  various  unhappy  newspaper  offices,  and  say  'Bless  you 
—  and  you  —  and  you  —  and  all,  all,  all !'  and  quietly  take  your 

way  to  No.  9  Spruce,  and  if  you  should  meet ^  on  the  road, 

embrace  him  and  tell  him  I  love  him  dearly,  for  such  is  my  feeling 
of  amiability  at  present  that  even  that  crew  come  in  for  a  portion 
of  it.  I  should  have  written  you  a  line  by  the  last  steamer,  as 
I  had  promised  myself  —  but  I  was  so  very  much  like  the  5th 
Act,  on  Friday  morning,  that  I  was  unable  to  go  beyond  scratch- 
ing a  few  words  to  my  mother  and  Ellen. 

You  can  scarcely  feel  more  content  than  I  do  to  know  that 
at  last  the  play  has  been  justly  treated  ;  and  the  knowledge  of 
that  fact  gave  me  as  much  pleasure  on  Thursday  night  —  as 
the  congratulations  of  my  friends  on  my  acting  did. 

Well,  I  want  to  tell  you  how  the  play  went.  The  first  act 
went  all  smoothly  —  of  course  no  demonstration  until  Leah's 
entrance.  But  when  that  amiable  young  female  made  her  ap- 
pearance the  reception  was  all  by  itself,  as  Papa  would  say,  and 
the  end  of  the  act  was  electrical  in  its  effect  upon  the  audience. 
(That  sounds  like  a  Phila.  newspaper.)  Second  Act  charming 
and  tender  to  a  degree.  Third  Act  a  little  slow  at  first  because 
the  priest  had  been  indulging  in  a  long  dose  of  the  'Haunted 
Man'  lately,  and  he  consequently  was  sepulchral.  But  the 
end  warmed  them  up  and  the  call  was  fierce.  Then  came  my 
dear  old  Fourth  Act  and  as  I  had  been  a  good  child  and  had 
'reserved  my  power'  I  was  quite  able  to  give  my  young  friend 
Rudolf  that  little  gentle  remonstrance  in  the  way  he  deserved. 
The  applause  at  the  end  of  the  act  was  something  more  than 
banging  of  hands ;  &  the  dear  good  people  looked  so  happy 
when  I  came  out,  that  it  looked  more  like  an  audience  of  per- 
sonal friends  than  entire  strangers. 

1  One  of  the  crustiest  of  the  Bohemian  critics. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  51 

Then  the  fifth  act  came  in  just  as  charmingly  as  possible; 
and  they  cried  and  applauded  —  and  applauded  and  cried,  in 
the  most  industrious  manner.  And  when  the  curtain  fell  and 
Mr.  Webster  —  very  choky  and  very  happy  —  took  me  before 
the  audience,  the  greeting  I  received  was  all  I  could  have  ever 
hoped  for,  and  you  know  me  well  enough  to  remember  that  I 
am  not  pleased  with  a  little. 

Among  other  wonderful  things  I  must  tell  you  that  Leah's 
dress  has  been  changed.  She  wears  a  lovely  maroon  skirt  in 
place  of  the  yellow ;  and  it  is  a  great  improvement,  for  the  G. 
T.  A.  (great  tragic  actress  .^)  was  short,  not  to  say  dumpy,  in 
the  aforesaid  yellow.  Then,  oh  !  delightful  thought  —  she  has 
a  drapery  that  is  —  words  fail  —  and  shoes  of  the  period!! 

But  now  prepare  to  weep.  The  dear  old  rags  are  gone  ;  and 
I  am  wretchedly  respectable  in  a  sort  of  Friar  Laurence  affair. 
Poor  old  rags  —  it  was  too  bad  —  but  they  were  so  very  raggy. 

The  papers  are  all  splendid.  I  beg  to  call  your  attention 
to  the  Times  of  Friday,  and  there  is  a  gush  in  the  Post  of  this 
morning  —  something  in  your  own  style  —  mind,  I  never  find 
fault  with  it. 

The  houses  have  been  crowded.  We  are  intensely  fashion- 
able too.  The  Queen's  box  was  filled  last  night  with  a  large 
party  of  the  Marchioness  of  Ely's,  and  to-morrow  the  Prince 
and  Princess  are  coming. 

So  you  see  everything  seems  as  favorable  as  I  could  possibly 
wish,  and  with  the  critics  and  the  public  with  me  I  quietly 
look  forward  to  another  lifetime  of  Leah. 

All  this  time  I  have  never  thanked  you  for  your  last  letter  — 
But  I  do  now  sincerely  and  I  hope  you  continue  in  the  same  ami- 
able course.  Pray  go  over  to  Washington  Avenue  and  drink 
six  cups  of  tea  on  the  strength  of  Leah's  success. 

Very  truly  your  friend 

K.  J.  Bateman. 

You  don't  know  how  glad  I  should  have  been  to  have  seen 

you  and last  Thursday.     It  did  not  seem  quite  natural  — 

the  absence  of  your  two  faces. 

Father  will  send  you  all  the  papers  today." 


52  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Another  letter,  a  prior  one,  tells  of  being  taken  to  see 
Ristori  in  "Deborah"  when  the  family  toured  the  Con- 
tinent before  the  London  debut ;  we  must  remember  that 
the  writer  was  hardly  more  than  a  child  : 

"The  phrenologists  all  say  I  have  no  'veneration,'  and  I 
have  begun  to  think  the  assertion  to  be  very  correct.  When  I 
saw  Ristori  —  while  I  was  sitting  in  the  box  waiting  for  the  cur- 
tain to  go  up  —  I  worked  myself  up  into  a  nervous  fever,  and 
when  she  came  on  I  was  in  a  positive  tremble  from  excitement 
and  I  imagined  I  should  at  once  have  my  breath  taken  away. 
.  .  .  Gradually  my  breathing  recovered  its  usual  placidity  and, 
I  grieve  to  confess  it,  was  never  troubled  again  during  the  per- 
formance of  'Elizabeth,'  'Marie  Stuart'  and  'Deborah,'  in 
which  characters  I  saw  her.  I  say  I  grieve  because  I  wanted 
to  have  been  made  to  feel  as  I  had  never  felt  in  the  Theatre 
before.  But  no  —  It  must  be  my  'veneration'  —  I  can't  ac- 
count for  it  in  any  other  way.  I  did  not  so  much  wonder  at 
not  going  into  ecstasies  over  Elizabeth  and  Marie  Stuart,  for 
although  I  had  read  Schiller's  play  — which  hers  is  a  translation 
of  —  my  Italian  being  rather  bad  I  put  it  down  to  my  not  under- 
standing the  words,  and  reserved  —  not  my  'power'  —  but  my 
enthusiasm  for  'Leah,'  or  rather  'Deborah.'  How  I  wish  you 
could  have  seen  it!  I  was  so  disappointed  I  nearly  cried. 
Poor  dear  old  'Leah.'  Just  think  of  her  coming  on  and  toddling 
down  into  a  remote  corner  of  the  stage,  where  no  one  could  see 
her,  and  looking  as  amicably  as  possible  at  the  youth  who 
brought  her  on,  as  if  she  rather  liked  it.  The  end  of  the  first 
act  was  tame  —  tame  don't  express  it.  I  mean  by  that  the  end 
of  the  first  scene  in  our  play  —  for  Ristori  plays  it  in  four  acts. 
The  infant  of  four  years  of  age  was  a  creature  of  at  least  thirteen 
or  fourteen.  She  made  me  shudder!  No  attempt  at  scenery 
or  music  whatever,  which  made  it  still  more  dreary  and  cold. 
'I  don't  care  to  leave  this  farm'  and  Jacob  were  discovered 
in  the  last  act  alone  reaping  in  the  ocean,  the  ruined  cross  was 
shoved  on  by  a  youth  who,  to  say  the  least,  was  not  dressed  in 
the  costume  of  the  period,  and  stone  arches  and  houses  and 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  53 

churches  were  taken  on  and  off  in  a  way  that  would  have  been 
scarcely  thought  endurable  in  an  amateur  performance.  The 
whole  affair  was  somnolent  to  a  degree,  and  if  you  could  have 
seen  Papa's  face  and  watched  the  various  emotions  depicted 
thereon  during  the  evening  you  would  I  am  sure  have  been  en- 
tertained. Well,  I'll  act  'Deborah'  for  your  benefit  in  our 
Parlor  some  evening  when  I  don't  feel  like  knitting,  and  let 
you  see  how  you  like  it. 

Papa  and  everyone  in  the  party  send  very  kind  remembrances 
in  which  I  assure  you  I  join  them,  and  with  strict  orders  that 
you  do  not  permit  yourself  to  be  taken  for  a  Tribune  reporter 
again  ^  and  that  you  present  yourself  at  Washington  Avenue 
when  we  arrive  —  believe  me 

Very  truly  your  friend 

K.  J.  Bateman 

See  what  a  nice  /.  I  made  you." 

With  Miss  Bateman  Daly  maintained  relations  of  warm 
regard  all  his  life ;  but  he  soon  fell  out  with  Mr.  Bateman, 
with  whom  he  could  not  agree  as  to  the  extent  of  the 
reward  which  the  author  ought  to  have  for  his  services 
(few  authors  and  managers  can),  and  the  outcome  was  a 
lawsuit.  A.  Oakey  Hall,  then  District  Attorney  and 
one  of  the  most  prominent  figures  at  the  Bar,  summed 
up  for  Daly  at  the  trial  in  a  way  to  induce  self-examination 
and  repentance  in  Bateman  and  to  secure  a  verdict  in 
spite  of  the  multitude  of  legal  impediments  industriously 
scattered  in  the  way  by  the  defendant's  counsel.  Hall's 
speech  was  much  talked  about,  and  the  Herald  wished  a 
report  of  it  to  publish.  Unfortunately  it  had  not  been 
taken  down  by  the  court  stenographer,  but  Daly  wrote  a 
report  of  it  from  recollection  and  got  this  compliment 
from  Hall : 

'  Referring  to  the  incident  of  the  Draft  Riot. 


54  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

"City  and  County  of  New  York 
District  Attorney's  Office 
April  24,  1866. 
My  dear  Client. 

Yr.  report  of  the  speech  is  ten  times  better  than  the  original. 
I  never  before  so  well  realized  how  a  reporter  can  'make  an  ora- 
tor.' I  was  happy  to  illustrate  the  Guild  of  Literature  and  in 
it  I  find  my  repayment. 

It  has  never  been  my  practice  to  charge  a  counsel  fee  to  a 
brother  in  the  law  or  in  literature,  and  therefore  the  delicacy  of 
your  note  may  be  withdrawn. 

Very  cordially  Yrs. 

A.  Oakey  Hall. 

P.S.      If  a  'case'  be  made   up  I  should    like  to  see  it  before 

settled,  &c. 

Aug.  Daly  Esqr." 

Mr.  Hall  was  one  of  Daly's  earliest  friends,  and  felt  the 
admiration  for  the  ambitious  youth  shared  by  so  many  of 
the  elder  men  of  his  day.  This  was  Hall's  happiest  period. 
His  versatihty  found  employment  in  literature  as  well  as 
law.  He  was  an  excellent  speaker,  possessing  a  voice  of 
musical  quality.  As  district  attorney  he  gained  such 
esteem  that  he  was  easily  elected  and  reelected  to  the 
office  of  mayor.  In  office,  like  another  literary  politician, 
Disraeli,  he  left  details  to  subordinates  and  relied  upon 
their  accuracy  and  honesty.  It  was  during  his  second 
term  as  mayor  that  the  duty  of  auditing  the  unsettled 
claims  against  the  abolished  board  of  county  super- 
visors was,  by  special  statutory  provision,  imposed  upon 
him  in  conjunction  with  the  Comptroller  Connolly,  and 
Tweed,  the  former  chairman  of  the  board.  Hall  audited 
whatever  his  associates  approved  without  looking  into 
the  merits  of  each  claim.  The  disclosure  of  enormous 
frauds    led    to    the    indictment    separately    of    the    three 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  55 

officials:  Mayor  Hall  being  indicted  solely  for  "failure 
to  audit"  —  a  charge  considered  by  many  legal  minds 
at  the  time  as  inappropriate  upon  the  facts.  His  trial 
was  held  in  the  Common  Pleas,  as  the  judges  of  the  Gen- 
eral Sessions,  John  K.  Hackett  and  Gunning  S.  Bedford, 
were  his  intimate  friends.  A  great  surprise  was  sprung 
when  the  prosecution  called  to  the  witness  stand  one  of 
the  fraudulent  claimants  —  a  contractor  named  Gar- 
vey,  supposed  to  be  in  Europe,  whither  he  had  fled  at 
the  first  exposures.  Garvey,  while  not  being  able  to 
connect  Mayor  Hall  with  the  plots  he  revealed,  neverthe- 
less unfolded  such  a  tale  of  plunder  as  was  likely  to  prove 
disastrous  to  any  member  of  the  city  government  to  whom 
negligence  could  in  any  way  be  imputed.  The  death  of 
one  of  the  jurors  before  the  completion  of  the  trial  was 
therefore  most  fortunate  for  Mayor  Hall.  When  some 
months  later  he  was  notified  by  the  prosecution  to  stand 
a  second  trial,  it  was  at  Christmas  time ;  and  the  public, 
then  accustomed  to  the  confession  of  Garvey,  thought  the 
selection  of  date  was  oppressive.  Hall,  however,  readily 
accepted  the  challenge.  He  asked  no  delay,  and  his 
counsel  accepted  the  first  twelve  jurymen  called  to  the 
box.  He  was  acquitted,  there  being  complete  failure  to 
prove  criminal  intent. 

The  success  of  "Leah  the  Forsaken"  invited  Daly  to 
continue  this  line  of  work.  Next  year  he  was  asked  by 
Mrs.  John  Wood,  managing  the  Olympic  Theatre,  to  give 
her  a  comedy  ;  and  he  worked  with  Frank  Wood,  a  young 
newspaper  friend,  upon  an  adaptation  of  Sardou's  "Le 
Papillon,"  which  Mrs.  Wood  produced  under  the  name 
of  "Taming  a  Butterfly."  Frank  Wood  had  recom- 
mended himself  to  Daly  by  his  clever  burlesque  called 
"Leah,  the  Forsook,"  produced  at  the  Winter  Garden^ 

1  Summer  of  1863. 


56  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

with  the  fat  Dan  Sitchell  as  ^^  Leah,  a  Shrewish 
Maiden,''  the  gigantic  Mack  Smith  as  the  ^^ gentle 
Maddelena,''  the  beautiful  Emily  Thorne  as  Rudolph^ 
and  the  lean  and  hungry-looking  Sol  Smith  as  the 
wicked  Nathan. 

The  scene  of  Daly's  next  activities  was  again  in  the 
Winter  Garden.  This  playhouse  was  erected  on  the  site 
of  Tripler  Hall,  a  concert  room  later  called  "Metropolitan 
Hall,"  and  altered  to  the  Metropolitan  Theatre  (which 
became  Laura  Keene's  new  theatre  for  a  brief  season) ; 
it  then  became  Burton's  new  theatre,  and  was  finally 
reconstructed  by  Boucicault  and  named  "The  Winter 
Garden."  Madame  Methua-Scheller  gave  Daly  one  of 
her  favorite  parts  to  turn  into  English  for  her  debut  in 
that  tongue.  It  was  produced  under  the  title  "Lorlie's 
Wedding." 

Miss  Laura  Keene,  now  (1863)  a  travelling  star,  an- 
nounced her  want  of  a  play  in  these  lines  to  Daly  : 

"Riverside  Lawn,  Acushnet,  Mass. 
My  dear  Sir : 

I  want  a  comedy !  I  have  the  plot  —  situation  etc.  etc.  all 
sketched.  It  would  not  be  a  task  of  any  great  length  for  you 
and  would  not  diminish  your  rapidly  growing  reputation  as  an 
author.  Will  you  undertake  it  ?  And  what  terms  per  night 
for  the  U.  S.  and  England  will  you  name  ?  I  have  given  the  sub- 
ject a  great  deal  of  thought  and  have  been  collecting  matter 
for  it  for  the  last  three  years.  Boucicault  and  Tom  Taylor  are 
willing  to  do  it  but  cannot  see  it  as  an  American  comedy.  I  can- 
not see  it  as  an  English  one,  for  it  is  of  us  most  essentially  and 
will  I  am  convinced  go  better  in  England  for  being  American. 
I  need  not  tell  you  that  I  want  a  fine  part.  I  played  so  much 
bad  business  in  my  own  theatre  (ever  sinking  the  actress  in  the 
manageress)  that  I  have  refused  every  offer  to  New  York,  await- 
ing the  time  when  a  role  that  suited  me  should  present  itself. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  57 

that  would  enable  me  to  do  justice  to  myself.  Will  you  give  me 
your  views  at  as  early  a  date  as  possible  ? 

Very  truly  yours, 
Laura  Keene. 
August  1863." 

It  is  instructive  to  find  that  although  the  star  had  the 
plot,  the  situation,  and  the  material  ready  for  the  drama- 
tist, it  devolved  upon  him  to  create  a  "fine  part,"  to 
realize  the  ideal  which  the  star  had  been  waiting  years  for, 
and  to  give  the  piece  a  setting  of  brilliant  dialogue  and 
character-portrayal  to  be  recognized  as  distinctly  Ameri- 
can, Such  are  the  tasks  of  "no  great  length"  imposed 
upon  playwrights. 

What  poor  travelling  stars  had  to  put  up  with  in  the 
war  days  (1863)  is  related  by  Miss  Keene's  manager, 
Brough  : 

"You  can  hardly  conceive  the  poverty  of  talent  in  the  theatres 
of  the  west,  and  the  actors'  insolent  independence.     They  will 

only  do  what  they  d please.     Only  last  evening  a  gentleman 

named  Lanergan  who  was  cast  for  the  role  of  'Old  Hardcastle' 
in  'She  Stoops  to  Conquer'  absented  himself  from  the  theatre, 
giving  as  his  only  reason  the  part  was  not  good  enough  for  him  ! 
As  he  was  a  useful  man  the  manager  retained  him.  At  Woods 
theatre  another  actor,  —  Wight, —  played  the  first  act  of  a 
drama  and  then  walked  out  of  the  house  and  got  drunk.  The 
management  were  compelled  to  look  over  it  &  retain  him  in 
the  theatre.  So  much  for  the  Western  drama.  Miss  Keene 
says  if  she  saw  the  slightest  hope  of  doing  any  justice  to  your 
play  she  would  try  it." 

Another  star  with  another  commission  for  the  author 
took  possession  of  the  Winter  Garden.  Miss  Avonia 
Jones  was  the  daughter  of  the  Count  Joannes  (or  George 
Jones)  and  Melinda  Jones,  already  mentioned.  She  was 
of  good  height,  and  dark,  with   regular  features  and  a 


58  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

musical  voice,  but  with  a  monotonous  delivery.  Her 
mother  was  a  lady  of  majestic  mien,  who  had  played 
heavy  female  parts  and  had  even  appeared  as  Romeo. 

For  Miss  Avonia  Jones  Daly  prepared  "Judith"  in 
collaboration  with  Paul  Nicholson,  a  fellow  journalist. 
Daly  next  adapted  for  her  "La  Sorciere,"  then  "Garcia," 
and  finally  "La  Tireuse  des  Cartes."  "The  Sorceress," 
under  which  title  the  first  play  was  announced,  was  a 
tale  of  maternal  suffering  under  the  barbarous  practice 
of  droit  de  Seigneur.  Daly  proposed  to  make  the  heroine 
of  the  play  the  daughter,  not  the  mother,  and  this  elicited 
the  following  comment  from  the  star  : 

"I  can't  make  out  how  you  intend  transforming  Jeanne  into 
a  ''daughter^  and  yet  keep  the  powerful  interest  which  in  the 
original  is  centered  in  the  ^mother.''  I  always  think  the  latter 
phase  of  life  the  most  powerful  and  I  am  most  found  of  por- 
traying such  emotions.  Daughters  I  care  little  about.  I  don't 
mind  playing  middle-aged  women,  for  I  have  so  long  been  ac- 
customed to  it  in  'Lady  Macbeth,'  'Lady  Constance'  &c.  As 
you  have  never  seen  me  act  I  must  tell  you  that  my  style  is 
passionate.  When  I  love  it  must  be  madly ;  not  the  tender 
gentle  love  that  shrinks  from  observation,  but  love  that  would 
sweep  all  before  it  and  if  thwarted  would  end  in  despair,  mad- 
ness and  death.  In  fact  in  acting  I  am  more  fond  of  being  bad 
than  good.  Hate,  revenge,  despair,  sarcasm  and  resistless  love 
I  glory  in  ;  charity,  gentleness  and  the  meeker  virtues  I  do  not 
care  for." 

This  desperate  character  was  as  far  from  the  good  Miss 
Jones'  natural  disposition  as  from  her  power  of  portrayal. 
She  was  already  the  wife  of  the  eminent  English  tragedian, 
G.  V.  Brooke,  was  devoted  to  her  mother  and  her  sister, 
and  was  without  a  particle  of  the  stormy  passion  and 
fire  in  dramatic  impersonations  which  she  had  evidently 
set  up  as  her  ideal. 


CHAPTER  VI 

A  tour  of  the  South  with  the  Daly  plays  and  Miss  Jones  as  star. 
Letters  from  the  South  during  the  War  period.  Norfolk  revisited. 
The  blacks.  The  colored  provost  guard.  Recollections  of  the 
Taylor  and  Fillmore  campaign.  Torchlight  procession.  Lady 
with  the  wreath.  By  railroad  to  Nashville.  Blackguards  in  the 
"Ladies'  Car."  Military  acquaintances.  Illness.  Steamboat  on 
the  Mississippi.  Methua  and  his  illuminated  letters.  Guerillas. 
A  trap  baited  with  cotton.  Stuck  on  a  sandbar.  Transferred. 
Cairo  the  filthy.  The  war  fatal  to  civic  housekeeping.  Aground 
again  and  again.  A  better  class  of  passengers.  Despair  of  the 
barkeeper.  Memphis  brings  up  the  average  of  wickedness.  News- 
papers. Notice  of  distinguished  arrival.  Permit  from  military 
authorities.  Rumors  of  guerillas.  Alarm  bells  empty  the  theatres. 
Return  to  New  York.  Compliment  from  Mrs.  Jones.  Appre- 
ciation of  her  daughter.  Matilda  Heron  commands  a  play. 
Ada  Isaacs  Menken  to  have  another. 

After  Miss  Jones'  season  at  the  Winter  Garden  was 
completed,  Daly,  then  utterly  inexperienced  in  manage- 
ment, was  asked  by  Miss  Jones  to  manage  a  starring 
tour  with  her  in  his  plays  through  the  South.  He  under- 
took it  with  complete  confidence.  Its  pecuniary  return 
to  him  was  absolutely  nothing,  but  the  preparation  for 
his  future  career  was  valuable.  The  tour  was  to  take  in 
those  cities  occupied  by  the  Federal  troops  (no  others 
were  accessible).  Daly's  Southern  birth  would,  it  was 
hoped,  be  a  recommendation  to  the  old  residents.  Dur- 
ing his  absence  I  substituted  for  him  upon  his  various 
newspapers. 

The  history  of  this  tour  is  condensed  into  letters  which 
would  be  uninteresting  to  the  general  reader  as  mere 
accounts  of    theatrical  business   (very  much  alike  in  all 

59 


6o  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

periods  and  under  all  "stars"),  if  they  did  not  give  some 
glimpses  of  local  conditions  seen  through  the  smoke  of 
battle.  A  letter  from  Norfolk  containing  childhood 
reminiscences  I  venture  to  insert : 

"Norfolk,  Va.  September,  1864. 
You  see  I  am  in  the  old  town.  I  have  walked  again  the 
queer,  curling,  odd,  ridiculous  old  streets  and  the  little  lanes 
and  short  cuts  our  boy  feet  toddled  over.  I  have  seen  the  old 
market  and  examined  the  old  pump.  The  market  women 
gather  round  it  as  of  old  to  wash  their  dry  vegetables  and  give 
them  a  watery  semblance  of  freshness.  It  was  grand  market 
day  to-day  and  the  old  fashioned  queue  of  wagons  and  carts 
with  the  horses  taken  out  and  tied  to  a  bundle  of  hay  behind, 
extended  up  market  square  and  up  Main  Street  to  Church.  I 
have  made  but  one  purchase,  but  I  have  duplicated  that  one 
lots  of  times  —  Figs  !  Think  of  it  —  Figs  !  At  the  sight  of 
them  —  at  the  taste  —  visions  of  our  little  pilferings  in  the 
back  garden  of  Johnson's  house  held  me  in  a  retrospective 
trance  !  I  was  a  little  rapscallion  again  up  among  the  branches 
and  you  were  the  conscience-touched  but  overruled  little 
brother  under  them  catching  the  fruit  —  ripe  —  cracking  and 
luscious  which  I  threw  down.  I  even  had  a  sore  mouth  again 
from  the  recollection,  and  from  present  sensations  I  believe  I 
have  a  sore  stomach  from  a  reality  of  gormandizing.  I  feasted 
cheaply.  Five  cents  a  dozen  !  Father  Abraham  !  Would  we 
not  give  five  cents  apiece  in  New  York.^" 

"Norfolk,  Sept.  15,  '64. 
My  room  in  the  hotel  (which  is  next  to  the  Bank  on  the 
corner  of  Bank  St.  and  Main)  Is  exactly  opposite  our  old  house 
in  Dodd's  Lane.  It  is  now  occupied  by  Darkies  ;  indeed  there 
are  few  places  in  town  not  filled  with  the  black.  They  are  two 
thirds  of  the  foot  passengers,  they  are  storekeepers,  barbers, 
market  men,  ferrymen,  omnibus  drivers,  coachmen,  ticket 
takers,  soldiers.  Provost  guards,  waiters  —  everything.  They 
are  cheap  and  sassy.     You  can  have  a  dozen  to  run  a  single 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  6i 

errand,  and  the  one  selected  falls  down  and  thanks  you  for 
giving  him  the  job  and  charges  you  nothing  for  doing  it ! 

We  had  a  riot  in  town  between  the  negro  Provost  Guard 
and  a  lot  of  tipsy  sailors  yesterday  in  broad  day.  It  was  a  big 
fight  and  finished  up  several  sailors  and  a  few  darkies.  The 
'bracks'  in  consequence  are  bigger  than  ever."  .  .  . 

"Norfolk,  Va.  September  21,  '64, 
In  my  perambulations  the  other  day  I  searched  out  the  old 
circus  camping  ground.  It  is  a  Darkey  quarter  now  and  the 
spot  where  the  ring  used  to  be  raised  and  the  horses  run,  the 
clown  joke  his  old  jokes  and  the  ringmaster  snap  his  long  whip, 
is  covered  with  dingy  little  two-story  negro  habitations.  The 
spot  where  the  old  Avon  Theatre  stood  is  now  covered  by  the 
town  jail.     Think  of  it! 

I  passed  Corsee's  house  too  and  thought  of  our  famous  torch- 
light procession,  of  the  'three  cheers  for  the  Lady  of  the  Wreath,' 
of  cousin  blushing,  and  all  —  for  the  old  porch  looked  so  old 
and  so  natural." 

The  torchlight  procession  referred  to  took  place  during 
the  presidential  campaign  of  1848  between  Taylor  and 
Fillmore  on  the  Whig  ticket,  and  Cass  and  Butler  on  the 
Democratic.  We  small  urchins,  aged  eight  and  ten, 
paraded  with  the  cohorts  of  the  latter,  and  were  intrusted 
with  a  transparency  on  a  pole  which  occasionally  came  to 
the  ground  with  a  crash  and  nearly  tilted  us  up  on  end. 
We  erected  a  flagstaff  in  our  yard  with  a  banner  and  the 
legend  "Cass  &  Butler"  in  large  black  letters  on  it,  printed 
for  us  by  the  local  Democratic  journal.  Notwithstand- 
ing these  exertions  Cass  and  Butler  were  defeated. 

"Nashville,  October  2,  1864. 

What  a  horrid  journey  we  have  had  to  be  sure.  You  say  I 
will  find  changes  of  water  —  and  they  will  disagree  with  me. 
I  poison  each  tumblerfuU  I  drink  with  ^  dozen  drops  of  whiskey. 

Only  think  of  it !     I  drink  wotka  1     The  world  will  end  in  '64. 


62  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

The  railroad  accommodations  out  here  are  horrid ;  on  the 
night  trains  especially  so.  Low  narrow  seats,  dirty  floors,  no 
ventilation,  brutes  and  blackguards  in  the  so-called  ladies' 
car !  No  water,  dim  lights,  filthy  stations  and  long  waits  for 
'connections,'  are  a  few  of  the  evils.  We  waited  two  hours  in 
the  cold  night  air  (between  ii  and  i  o'clock)  for  a  train  at  a 
town  called  Seymour,  between  Cincinnati  and  Louisville,  be- 
cause the  ladies'  saloon  stank  so  badly  and  the  'gentlemen's'  ( .^) 
ditto  was  crowded  with  noisy,  blasphemous  and  filthy  soldiers 
and  conscripts." 

"Nashville,  October  9. 
I  have  made  very  few  military  acquaintances  here,  pre- 
ferring, if  possible,  to  be  known  to  the  citizens.  I  have  had  a 
friendly  interview  with  the  Mayor  and  Secretary  of  State ; 
have  become  intimate  with  the  Paymaster  of  the  department 
—  know  the  Cheatems  (very  honest  people)  —  'oldest  inhab- 
itants' and  relations  of  the  Reb.  Gen.,  &c.  &c.  I  have  been 
quite  unwell,  though  (compelled  to  stay  much  in  my  room)  so 
I  have  been  unable  to  enlarge  the  circle.  I  caught  a  severe  cold 
on  two  rainy  nights  (Tuesday  and  Wednesday)  and  it  rushed  to 
my  throat.  It  is  as  full  of  rocks  now  as  Broadway  when  Russ 
or  Belgian  is  being  laid.  I  have  a  mountain  on  the  outside 
(under  right  ear)  about  as  big  as  a  baby's  head,  as  hard  as  the 
heart  of  a  melodramatic  cruel  uncle  and  as  painful  as  love's 
parting." 

"October  26, 

On  the  Mississippi. 

My  point  of  date  is  not  very  definite,  I  admit,  for  it  might 
mean  anywhere  within  five  hundred  or  a  thousand  miles  or  so. 
The  river  is  very  low,  and  besides  the  usual  traditional  snags 
which  threaten  us  at  every  bend,  sandbars  are  now  to  be  dreaded. 
Just  above  us  are  two  steamers  high  and  dry  on  a  bank.  I 
tremble  as  I  gaze.  They  have  been  so  three  days.  What  a 
chance  for  the  Guerillas,  who  line  the  banks  all  the  way  down. 

From  the  sight  I  had  of  the  venerable  paternal  parent  of 
waters  this  afternoon  I  don't  think  much  of  that  Mighty  '  strame.' 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  63 

It  is  very  narrow  and  very  dirty.  In  color  the  water  varies 
from  a  sick  green  to  an  invalid  yellow.  You  come  by  some 
pretty  spots  occasionally,  though.  Rural  and  romantic  houses 
built  high  up  on  the  bluffs.  The  foliage  too  is  all  lovely  to  the 
eye  just  now  and  the  river  shore  is  grand  in  autumn  colors. 
What  a  magnificent  album  might  be  made  up  of  the  autumn 
leaves  alone.  I  have  seen  nothing  out  here  though  to  equal  the 
western  Pennsylvania  forests  in  their  Indian  summer  dress. 
Such  richness  of  color,  such  variety  of  shade,  so  luxuriously 
thick.  As  you  rush  by  them  or  through  them  it  all  looks  like 
fairyland  or  dreamland. 

Ask  Methua  why  he  don't  write  to  me.  He  has  commenced 
*a  series'  of  'Artistic'  letters  to  Miss  J.  No.  2  (he  numbers 
them  and  pages  them)  came  yesterday  in  an  envelope  much 
larger  than  this  sheet  of  paper." 

J.  Guido  Methua's  illuminated  epistles  were  unique. 
He  was  a  painter  of  skill,  and  his  letters  of  congratulation 
or  commemoration  were  engrossed  in  copperplate  hand- 
writing, with  superscription  and  initial  words  in  German 
text  in  gold  and  colors.  I  have  one  before  me  now, 
dated  February  3,  1863  '■>  it  is  addressed  "Augustin  Daly," 
in  resplendent  characters,  followed  by  "Dear  Friend," 
and  begins  :  "Leah  [in  blue  and  gold]  may  be  considered 
the  vanguard  of  a  new  dramatic  era."  He  was  the  de- 
voted husband  of  the  beautiful  Madame  Methua-Scheller. 

Methua  predicted  that  all  the  translators  and  adapters 
would  be  turning  their  eyes  to  the  German,  now  that 
Mr.  Daly  had  revealed  the  mine.  There  were  some  at- 
tempts to  work  the  "find,"  but  they  languished.  It  was 
left  to  my  brother  twenty  years  after  to  reopen  it  suc- 
cessfully with  the  German  comedies.  Mosenthal's  "Debo- 
rah" was  now  done  into  English  by  a  great  number  of 
translators  and  sold  everywhere ;  but  as  those  produc- 
tions were  very  different  from  the  Daly  version  and  could 


64  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

not  be  played  under  the  name  of  "Leah,"  they  found  no 
market.  But  to  return  to  the  account  of  a  voyage  down 
the  Father  of  Waters  in  war  times  : 

"On  the  Mississippi,  Oct.  30,  1864. 
We  have  had  an  eventful  passage.  We  have  struck  snags, 
have  run  on  bars  and  gotten  off  again,  and  we  have  been  fired 
into  by  guerillas.  This  last  'item'  transpired  today  while  we 
were  at  dinner.  The  shots  —  about  a  dozen  —  came  from  a 
masked  battery  —  and  although  we  had  an  entire  regiment  of 
U.  S.  soldiers  on  board  there  was  not  a  musket  to  reply.  No 
injury  was  done  —  as  the  boat  is  a  pretty  fast  one  and  took  to 
her  heels  for  safety.  So  you  see  I  am  in  the  midst  of  the  War. 
But  I  assure  you  everything  looks  uglier  in  print  than  in  reality. 
For  instance  there  are  more  misses  than  hits  in  these  skirmishes. 
It  is  one  thing  to  fire  —  another  to  shoot.  It  is  only  in  cases 
of  real  downright  carelessness  that  positive  injury  is  sustained. 
A  steamer  which  reached  Cairo  just  as  we  were  leaving  had 
been  boarded  by  guerillas  and  several  folks  shot,  but  this  was 
because  she  stopped  against  all  reason  at  a  deserted  point  on  the 
river  to  take  in  cotton.     The  cotton  was  the  bait  in  a  trap." 

"On  board  the  Louisville,  Cairo  &  Memphis  U.  S.  Mail  Line 
Steamer  St.  Patrick,  Geo.  O.  Hart,  Master,  I.  L.  Frisbie, 
Clerk. 

Thursday,  Novr.  3rd,   1864. 

On  Monday  the  boat  ran  on  a  terrible  sandbar  about  80 
miles  above  Memphis  and  then  stuck  for  sixty  hours  and  still 
sticks.  She  is  loaded  down  with  freight  and  draws  7^  feet  of 
water  and  there  is  only  5^  feet  where  she  lies.  I  and  a  number 
of  passengers  becoming  disgusted  got  the  Captain  to  hail  a 
passing  boat  and  put  us  on  her,  and  today  I  stand  a  fine  chance 
(guerillas  and  God  willing)  of  being  in  Memphis  after  an  eight 
days'  trip 

I  did  not  write  you  while  in  Cairo It  is  without  ex- 
ception the  filthiest  hole  in  existence.  It  is  the  end  of  the  world. 
The  tail  of  creation.     The  finis  of  the  sphere.     The  dirt-box  of 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  65 

this  globe.  It  is  built  on  a  morass  with  a  high  embankment  in 
front  of  it  on  the  river  side  to  save  it  from  being  wiped  away 
from  the  map  in  an  overflow .  This,  however,  does  not  save 
it  from  being  constantly  inundated,  as  the  'body'  of  the  town 
is  far  below  the  water,  with  wooden  bridges  for  foot  passengers, 
and  only  on  three  or  four  can  horses  travel.  Pigs,  cows,  hens 
and  horses  run  loose  in  the  alleys  and  lanes.  Every  thorough- 
fare is  a  garbage  box.  All  the  houses  are  built  on  foundations 
20  feet  high  and  with  no  cellars  or  basements.  All  stores  are 
variety  stores.  The  telegraph  man,  even,  keeps  a  grocery  and 
the  postmaster  has  a  news  stand.  (I  wonder  if  mailed  news- 
papers are  delivered  regularly  or  safely  there .'')  And  yet  for- 
tunes are  made  there.  I  hear  of  one  man  who  has  cleared 
$125,000  and  who  came  there  three  years  ago  as  porter  to  a 
'drygoodery.'  The  newspapers  (there  are  two)  talk  of  'our 
growing  city'  and  its  future  as  they  have  been  talking  the 
last  25  years.     Ah  Allah  !   but  Cairo  is  one  of  the  places  !" 

The  disorder  caused  by  v^ar  was  fatal  to  any  attempt 
at  good  "housekeeping"  on  the  part  of  municipal  author- 
ities. One  coming  to  the  city  of  New  York  from  abroad 
in  1864  would  have  seen  parks  turned  into  camps,  and 
squares  littered  with  unsightly  wooden  shanties.  It  was 
because  the  City  Hall  Park  was  so  defaced  for  years  that 
the  public  made  no  protest  against  the  sale  of  the  lower 
end  of  it  to  the  Federal  Government  as  a  site  for  the  post- 
office  —  the  worst  mistake  ever  made  by  the  authorities 
of  the  then  misgoverned  city, 

"Memphis,  Nov.  6,  '64. 
Dear  Josey, 

As  you  see  I  have  at  last  reached  here 

We  must  have  had  a  Jonah  on  board  the  entire  way ;  for  in 
coming  from  St.  Louis  first  on  the  'Julia'  we  were  grounded 
twice,  and  took  two  days  to  make  a  20  hours'  trip.  Then  we 
were  transferred  at  Cairo  to  the  'Mississippi,'  a  monstrous 
palace  of  a  boat,  and  left  the  town  in  her  on  Sunday.     Monday 


66  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

morning  we  'grounded'  and  stuck  till  Tuesday  noon,  when  we 
were  dragged  off  the  bar  by  an  amiable  but  rival  S.  B.  An 
hour  after,  we  struck  another  and  a  much  worse  bar,  and  on 
that  the  boat  remained  in  the  most  stubborn  manner  for  three 
days ;  those  of  the  passengers  who  were  compelled  to  be  in 
Memphis  or  New  Orleans  were  transferred  to  the  St.  Patrick 
(Howly  boat !)  but  hardly  had  we  got  off  on  her  than 
she  grounded  .  .  .  got  off  the  next  morning,  but  soon  after 
in  rough  water  and  striking  a  snag  she  unshipped  her  rudder, 
and  had  it  not  been  for  a  gunboat  which  came  in  sight  and 
took  us  in  tow  the  good  St.  Patrick  would  never  have  got  to 
Memphis. 

The  passengers  were  all  staid,  moral  and  upright  people. 
They  were  all  of  the  church.  Very  little  smoking  and  chewing 
and  no  tippling.  The  barman  was  in  despair.  He  was  almost 
ready  to  give  away  his  drynkkes  to  anybody  who  would  take 
them,  only  to  keep  his  hand  in.  Even  the  'sailors'  were  moral. 
I  didn't  hear  a  swear  sworn  by  any  of  'em.  Not  even  a  little 
d — .  The  Captain  too  was  the  mildest  sort  of  man.  I  became 
so  impressed  that  I  was  becoming  'a  chosen  children'  myself, 
and  would  have  joined  the  tabernacle  of  grace  if  I  had  remained 
off  shore  a  day  longer.  One  old  cove  to  whom  I  was  relating 
an  'experience'  or  two  of  my  travels,  deceived  by  my  churchly 
manner  wanted  to  know  if  I  was  on  a  journey  in  the  missionary 
interest !  When  I  told  him  that  I  was  not,  but  on  a  tour  in 
the  interest  of  the  drama,  he  gave  a  spasmodic  shudder  and 
fled  to  the  secret  recesses  of  his  berth  to  pray  for  my  sinful, 
depraved  and  lost  soul. 

The  immoralities  of  the  town  however  make  up  for  the  sainted 
character  of  the  boat  and  its  passengers.  Such  wild  devils, 
such  drinkers,  such  smokers,  chewers,  such  gamblers  and  up- 
roarious fellows  generally  I  never  saw.  ...  I  am  on  the  war- 
path to  conquer  or  die.  The  newspapers  received  me  very 
kindly.  Here  is  a  sample:  (Clipping)  'Memphis  Bulletin. 
By  James  B.  Bingham.  Largest  City  circulation.  Largest 
circulation  of  any  paper  in  West  Tennessee.  The  circulation 
of  the  Daily  Bulletin  is  double  that  of  all  the  City  press  com- 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  67 

bined.  Personal.  We  had  the  pleasure  yesterday  of  taking 
by  the  hand  Augustin  Daly  Esqr.,  the  talented  literary  and 
dramatic  editor  of  the  New  York  Daily  Express  and  Sunday 
Courier  who  is  on  a  brief  visit  of  business  to  our  City.  Mr. 
Daly's  character  embraces  all  the  qualities  of  a  scholar  and 
gentleman.     We  extend  to  him  the  freedom  of  our  sanctum.'  " 

Enclosed  was  Augustin's  Federal  permit : 

''HEADQUARTERS,  DISTRICT  OF  MEMPHIS 

Memphis,  Tenn.  Nov.  7,  1864. 
Permission  is  hereby  granted  A.  Daly,  Esqr.  Citizen  of  N.  Y. 
to  remain  in  the  City  Ten  (10)  days,  he  will  not  be  molested  by 
the  Militia  Patrols. 

By  order  of 

Brig.  Genl.  Buckland. 
Alf.  G.  Wither 

Capt.  8  a.a.a.  Gd." 

"Memphis,  Nov.  12,  '64. 

By  the  way,  let  me  prepare  you  at  once,  for  anything  may 
happen.  There  are  rumors,  plenty,  of  the  approach  of  the 
Confederates  to  this  place.  A  bit  of  news  not  known  and  which 
you  may  publish  as  reliable  is  that  Beauregard  is  in  command 
of  Western  Tennessee  forces  and  is  going  to  have  Columbus  and 
Memphis  in  order  to  blockade  the  Mississippi.  Hood  will 
work  for  Nashville  and  Bowling  Green,  and  so  the  old  'rebel' 
line  will  be  restored  !  This  is  the  plan,  and  I  have  it  from  For- 
rest's old  friend  and  surgeon.  The  other  day  in  the  capture,  on 
the  Tennessee  river,  of  gunboats,  5,000,000  of  greenbacks  were 
taken  —  the  pay  of  Sherman's  army  for  8  months.  This  is 
kept  tremendously  still,  but  gold  has  taken  a  step  on  it. 

If  Memphis  is  taken  I  shall  be  quite  safe,  from  my  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  Secesh  powers  (in  private)  here;  or  if 
it  is  held  I  shall  be  equally  safe,  from  my  friendliness  with  the 
other  powers.  So  be  easy,  my  boy.  You  can  write  to  me  from 
N.  Y.  up  to  the  24,  your  last  letter  leaving  that  day. 

By  the  way,  write  to  Keller  and  threaten  him  horribly." 


68  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"Memphis,  Nov.  13,  '64. 

As  you  can  judge  and  as  you  have  learned  by  this  time  I 
have  not  been  captured,  shot  or  imprisoned,  so  your  queries  on 
those  heads  are  answered.  I  have  to  have  a  permit  from 
Headquarters  to  walk  about  the  City,  though,  and  exempt  me 
from  arrest  and  imprisonment  for  'desertion'  from  the  Militia 
duty  of  the  place.  In  such  good  odor  am  I  with  the  authorities, 
though,  that  I  could  get  a  dozen  permits  if  I  needed  them.  I 
am  almost  like  the  man  in  the  fable  who  sat  between  two  stools 
—  only  in  this  instance  the  Federal  officers  seek  me,  while  it  is 
I  who  seek  the  Confederates  —  of  whom  there  are  a  number  in 
town  in  disguise.  I  introduced  a  Rebel  Captain  to  Miss  Jones 
the  other  evening  and  we  had  quite  a  treasonable  feast  of  'rea- 
son' together.  He  is  one  of  the  most  noted  guerilla  leaders  of 
the  west. 

On  Friday  night  I  had  my  first  taste  of  'war.'  You  must 
know  that  everybody  belongs  to  the  militia  here.  No  resident 
is  exempt.  They  drill  every  week  and  all  the  stores  are  closed 
that  day  to  let  every  one  turn  out  —  white  and  black.  When 
danger  to  the  town  is  apprehended  and  these  soldiers  are  needed 
the  signal  given  for  assembling  is  four  reports  of  cannon  and  the 
ringing  of  all  the  bells.  Then  all  have  to  seize  their  muskets 
and  trot  to  rendezvous.  Well,  Friday  evening  about  9^  o'clock, 
and  while  the  performance  was  going  on  to  the  biggest  and  most 
fashionable  audience  ever  in  the  theatre  since  it  was  built,  the 
four  cannon  were  heard  and  the  bells  commenced  to  ring. 
Lord  !  You  never  saw  such  a  lot  of  scared  people  in  your  life 
as  the  men  were.  They  started  for  the  door  pell-mell.  For- 
rest had  been  reported  within  20  miles  of  Memphis  for  six  days 
and  all  thought  he  had  come  in  at  last.  The  darkies  were  the 
most  scared  of  all.  You  know  he  has  threatened  to  hang  every 
'nigger'  he  catches.  I  addressed  them  myself.  I  told  them 
there  was  nothing  the  matter,  that  those  shots  were  only  fired 
in  honor  of  another  victory  of  Sheridan  in  the  Shenandoah. 
But  it  was  no  good.  I  only  had  my  lie  for  my  pains.  'Dat's 
all  berry  well,  bress  yer  soul,  Massa,'  —  said  one  old  codfish, 
'but  what  for  dem  dere  bells  ringin' .'"  and  off  he  went  followed 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  69 

by  the  entire  gallery.     In  three  minutes  we  had  only  an  audience 
of  secessionists  remaining." 

In  a  few  days  Daly  was  at  home,  not  regretting  his  ex- 
periences. He  filed  away  with  his  correspondence  a 
letter  from  Avonia's  mother  to  one  who  must  have  ap- 
peared to  her  experienced  mind  an  extraordinary  person  : 

"Daly,  you  are  a  thoroughly  unselfish  chap  —  too  much  for 
your  own  good  —  it  is  such  a  novelty  to  find  one  in  these 
shoddy  days  that  I  cannot  prize  you  too  much.  If  I  could 
only  make  you  feel  you  would  confer  a  favor  on  me  by  asking 
me  to  do  something  for  yourself  I  should  feel  less  weighed  down 
by  gratitude  —  but  you  are  one  of  those  that  always  take  joy 
in  doing  for  others,  but  unwilling  others  should  do  for  you." 

Through  many  letters,  playful,  practical,  and  meditative, 
from  Miss  Jones  herself  to  her  manager,  runs  a  sentiment 
that  she  sums  up  in  one  sentence:  *'It  is  a  great  thing 
to  have  an  earnest  disinterested  friend.  You  are  the  first 
one  I  ever  had." 

Matilda  Heron  at  this  time  was  a  very  masterful  char- 
acter, making  her  own  engagements  and  commanding  her 
own  plays  —  one  from  Daly,  referred  to  in  a  character- 
istic letter  written  on  her  departure  for  California  :  ^ 

"...  And  how  about  the  play  you  are  getting  up  for  me  .^ 
Good  boy  !  That's  right !  Get  to  work !  I  hope  to  be  back 
in  June  and  shall  have  just  nice  time  to  read  it  over  with  you, 
study  it  and  produce  it  in  the  autumn.  Do  not  get  it  into  your 
head  to  come  over  to  the  steamer  on  Wednesday,  for  you  know 
how  I  abhor  'adieux'  —  They  hurt  my  poor  heart  and  it  has 
enough  to  carry  this  very  day  in  leaving  husband  child  and 
home.  Don't  forget  me  quite,  good,  dear  Daly,  and  be  assured 
of  the  gratitude  with  which  I  shall  ever  remember  you.  A 
Happy  New  Year  and  good  bye  to  you. 

Matilda  Heron  Stoepel." 
'  1865. 


70  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

He  pursued  his  profession  of  playwright  with  vigor ; 
not  hesitating  to  offer  his  work  to  Edwin  Booth,  E.  L. 
Davenport,  J.  W.  Wallack,  Jr.,  and  John  S.  Clarke, 
although  without  result;  and  Miss  Adah  Isaacs  Menken 
pressed  him  to  write  a  drama  for  her.  Nothing  that  he 
brought  out,  however,  approached  the  success  of  "  Leah 
the  Forsaken"  until  the  production  of  the  two  plays  men- 
tioned in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  VII 

First  dramatization.  "Griffith  Gaunt."  The  grotesque  "New  York 
Theatre."  Lewis  Baker  and  Mark  Smith.  Art  of  dramatizing 
novels.  Daly  selects  the  cast.  Rose  Eytinge.  John  K.  Morti- 
mer. Their  acting.  The  Courtroom  scene.  Success  of  the  play. 
Demand  for  it.  Bowery  theatre  burns  down.  The  great  sensa- 
tion, "Under  the  Gaslight."  Sensational  plays.  The  Railroad 
Scene.  Incidents  of  the  first  night.  Nothing  could  kill  it.  Fa- 
miliar characters.  Judge  Dowling.  "Charley"  Spencer.  Bouci- 
cault  steals  the  railroad  scene.  Injunction  against  "After  Dark." 
Pirates  pay.  Hall  cannot  plead  for  either  side.  Burlesque  and 
parodies.  Henry  Ward  Beecher.  "Norwood."  Miss  Jennie 
Worrell's  objection  to  'bags.'  "Pickwick  Papers."  Daly's 
scenario.  "A  Flash  of  Lightning."  Human  documents.  Ill- 
ness. Mrs.  Scott  Siddons.  Marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Duff.  Writes 
a  "reform"  play  for  the  West.     Begins  to  look  about  for  a  theatre. 

Two  respectable  actors,  Lewis  Baker  and  Mark  Smith, 
were  lessees  of  the  "New  York  Theatre,"  a  grotesque 
structure  on  Broadway,  opposite  Waverly  Place,  con- 
verted from  a  church  after  the  congregation  of  the  Rev- 
erend Samuel  Osgood  had  moved  uptown.  A.  T.  Stewart 
bought  the  abandoned  temple  and  let  it  to  Miss  Lucy 
Rushton,  an  English  actress,  for  whom  it  was  fitted  up  as 
a  theatre.  She  failed,  and  was  succeeded  by  Lewis  and 
Baker;  who,  looking  about  for  attractions,  hit  upon  the 
idea  of  a  dramatization  of  the  then  popular  and  exciting 
novel  of  Charles  Reade,  "Griffith  Gaunt,  or  Jealousy," 
and  upon  Mr.  Daly  as  the  man  to  do  the  work.  The 
work  had  to  be  done  in  a  week.  Daly  undertook  it  and 
did  it. 

The  technical   difficulties  of  making  a  play  out  of  a 
novel  so  as  to  satisfy  those  who  have  read  and  those  who 

71 


72  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

have  not,  are  enormous.  The  whole  effect  of  a  book  which 
it  takes  two  days  or  more  to  read  must  be  condensed  into 
a  spectacle  not  to  exceed  two  and  a  half  hours  in  length. 
It  must  be  divided  into  acts,  each  of  which  must  have  a 
climax  absolutely  faithful  to  the  spirit  of  the  original  work, 
but  reached  by  a  process  of  compression,  dislocation,  and 
rearrangement,  the  art  of  which  must  be  unsuspected  by 
the  auditor.  In  addition,  the  play  so  constructed  must 
be  one  to  interest  spectators  who  are  not  acquainted 
with  the  book.  The  scenes  must  spring  naturally  from 
each  other  in  such  sequence  as  to  present  a  coherent  and 
well-rounded  work  of  art,  perfect  as  a  drama,  as  the  novel 
was  perfect  as  a  tale.  And  it  must,  without  the  aid  of 
description  or  explanation,  tell  its  own  story  and  carry  its 
own  moral. 

Not  only  was  the  literary  task  intrusted  to  Daly,  but 
also  the  selection  of  actors  and  actresses  for  his  char- 
acters, and  the  rehearsal  of  his  scenes.  His  genius  for 
stage  direction  was  thus  early  felt  by  old  professionals. 
The  rapidity  and  directness  with  which  he  accomplished 
the  dramatization  demonstrated  a  special  gift  for  arrange- 
ment with  reference  to  theatrical  effect  which  he  was 
afterwards  to  display  with  the  plays  of  Shakespeare  and 
of  the  older  dramatists.  As  to  the  cast,  he  engaged 
John  K.  Mortimer,  who  possessed  a  voice  of  singular 
sweetness,  for  Griffith  Gaunt,  and  Rose  Eytinge  for  Kate 
Peyton.  That  young  actress  was  under  a  cloud,  having 
abruptly  broken  a  New  York  engagement  a  few  years 
before.  She  was  a  dark-skinned,  black-eyed  beauty, 
resolute  and  uncontrollable.  At  Daly's  request  she  now 
returned  to  the  stage.  She,  too,  possessed  a  voice  of  more 
than  ordinary  music  —  not  only  "an  excellent  thing  in 
woman"  but  indispensable  to  complete  success  on  the 
stage.     Those  familiar  with  the  story  will  remember  the 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  75 

incident  when  to  the  despairing  and  disinherited  lover 
the  new  heiress,  who  once  rejected  him  because  of  fear  of 
his  passionate  jealousy,  now  comes  full  of  pity  and  re- 
kindled love  to  comfort  him ;  and  to  his  half-hopeful 
cry,  "What,  Kate!  Poor  me  —  is  it  possible  that  you 
would  marry  me?"  answers  with  indescribable  archness: 
"How  can  I  tell  till  I'm  asked  !"  It  is  possible  that  the 
human  voice  in  man  and  woman  may  have  been  so  moving 
on  the  mimic  stage  before,  but  the  effect  of  that  occasion 
upon  a  crowded  house  has  surely  never  been  surpassed. 
From  this  scene  to  the  end  interest  increased  in  the  lovers, 
who,  speedily  becoming  husband  and  wife,  are  as  speedily 
estranged  by  his  jealousy,  and  are  only  reunited  after 
poor  Kate  has  been  tried  for  her  life  on  the  charge  of 
compassing  her  husband's  death;  she  is  saved  by  his 
bodily  apparition  at  the  last  moment  in  the  court-room, 
where  he  is  welcomed  by  the  ringing  voice  of  the  Chief 
Justice,  "Sir,  I  am  glad  to  see  you." 

The  critical  appreciation  of  this  play  by  the  leading 
journals  was  marked  :  "A  marvel  of  dramatic  construc- 
tion. The  whole  story,  without  the  omission  of  a  single 
important  incident,  is  enacted  in  three  hours,  and  every 
point  of  the  novel  is  brought  out  with  startling  force. 
The  impression  left  upon  the  auditor  after  seeing  'Griffith 
Gaunt'  is  like  to  that  which  remained  after  witnessing 
the  same  author's  other  play,  'Leah  the  Forsaken,'  that 
mixture  of  sadness  and  satisfaction,  of  pain  and  pleasure, 
which  convinces  us  we  have  seen  a  page  from  nature  and 
read  a  story  of  human  life,  human  passions  and  fears."  ^ 
The  trial  scene  in  the  last  act,  the  culmination  of  sustained 
and  painful  interest,  was  conceded  to  be  one  of  the  most 
Impressive  of  the  kind  up  to  that  time.  The  unhappy 
prisoner  is  heard  pleading  her  cause  and  examining  her 

^  Ewning  Post. 


74  THE   LIFE  OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

witnesses  in  person,  the  rules  of  the  court  in  those  days 
not  permitting  the  indulgence  of  full  counsel  to  the  ac- 
cused. 

Mr.  Charles  Reade  was  told  by  Mr.  H.  D.  Palmer  of 
the  success  of  this  dramatization,  and  he  expressed  a  wish 
to  read  it.  Applications  for  it  came  from  all  quarters. 
The  new  Bowery  Theatre  was  burned  down  at  five  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  day  it  was  to  be  played  there. ^ 
Miss  Rachel  Denvil  was  to  play  Kate  and  William  H. 
Whalley  Griffith. 

The  dramatic  critics  of  the  period  were  so  cordial  in 
their  praise  of  Daly's  clever  work  that  he  could  think  of 
no  better  return  than  to  devote  the  profits  of  the  play 
to  a  dinner,  at  which  they  were  all  without  exception  his 
guests. 

Within  a  year  or  two  the  lease  of  the  New  York  Theatre 
passed  to  one  William  Worrell,  formerly  a  circus  acrobat 
or  clown,  who  had  saved  money,  and  with  the  aid  of  a 
good  wife  had  reared  three  daughters  —  Sophia,  Irene, 
and  Jennie  —  for  the  stage.  Mr.  Daly,  having  the 
scheme  of  a  new  sensational  play  in  his  head,  offered  to 
hire  the  theatre  for  a  summer  season.  Even  at  the  pres- 
ent day  a  New  York  manager  would  yield  at  least  half  the 
gross  receipts  for  such  an  enterprise  (in  which  he  took  no 
risk) ;  but  the  shrewd  old  circus  man,  seeing  the  enthusi- 
asm of  young  Daly,  oiTered  him  a  quarter  of  the  gross  and 
it  was  accepted. 

The  play  Daly  had  in  mind  was  to  be  called  "Under 
the  Gaslight,"  and  was  destined  to  become  immediately 
famous  and  to  hold  the  stage  from  that  time  to  the  present, 
to  be  imitated  even  by  Boucicault,  the  master  of  stage 
sensation,  and  to  be  played  in  every  country  under  various 
disguises.     As  we  walked  home  one  night,  discussing  the 

iDec.  1 8,  1866. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  75 

need  of  a  culminating  incident,  my  brother  said  :  "I  have 
got  the  sensation  we  want  —  a  man  fastened  to  a  railroad 
track  and  rescued  just  as  the  train  reaches  the  spot!" 

The  class  of  plays  presenting  some  feature  of  physical 
peril  and  rescue  were  familiar,  and  usually  called  in 
disparagement  the  "sensational  drama"  —  as  if  every 
great  play  were  not  in  one  sense  a  sensational  drama. 
The  murder  of  Caesar  and  the  harangue  of  Antony  to  the 
mob  are  colossal  sensations,  as  is  the  Ghost  in  "Hamlet" 
and  the  play  within  the  play,  and,  above  all,  the  scene 
of  the  attempted  mutilation  of  little  Arthur  in  "King 
John."  The  screen  scene  in  "The  School  for  Scandal"  is 
one  of  the  greatest  of  sensations.  Without  some  episode 
to  hold  the  spectator  in  breathless  suspense  no  drama  can 
be  successful.  Whether  the  effect  be  produced  with  or 
without  the  aid  of  scenic  adjuncts  and  of  action  is  not 
important.  With  regard  to  this  new  play,  the  effect  was 
wrought  by  moral  agencies  which  were  potent  without  the 
climax  of  the  visible  railroad  train. 

On  the  first  night  ^  the  audience  was  breathless.  In 
spite  of  many  drawbacks,  —  the  insufficiency  of  the  stage, 
the  nervousness  of  the  stage  hands,  and  all  the  accidents 
of  a  first  performance,  —  the  play  gained  its  decisive  vic- 
tory. The  intensely  wrought  feelings  of  the  spectators 
found  vent  in  almost  hysterical  laughter  when  the  "rail- 
road train"  parted  in  the  middle  and  disclosed  the  iiying 
legs  of  the  human  motor  who  was  propelling  the  first 
half  of  the  express.  Had  the  effect  of  the  scene  de- 
pended not  upon  the  suspense  and  emotion  created  by 
the  whole  situation,  but  upon  the  machinery,  the  piece 
had  been  irretrievably  lost;  but  the  real  sensation  was 
beyond  chance  of  accident.  It  became  the  town  talk. 
The   houses   were   thronged.     An   old    theatre-goer   who 

1  Aug.  12,  1867. 


76  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

stood  up  in  the  rear  of  the  crowded  seats  turned  to  those 
about  him  after  a  long-drawn  breath  and  said,  "It  is 
the  chmax  of  sensation  !"  So  it  was,  and  has  so  remained. 
The  play  was  not,  however,  all  sensation.  S.  Weir  Roose- 
velt (who  was  prevented  by  illness  from  visiting  the 
theatre)  read  the  book,  and  remarked,  "I  am  glad  to 
see  that  the  literary  side  has  not  been  neglected."  He 
took  a  great  interest  in  my  brother's  progress  ;  at  this 
time  he  had  retired  from  the  active  practice  of  law  to  de- 
vote himself  with  ardor  to  the  duties  of  Public  School 
Commissioner. 

Again  Mr.  Daly  chose  his  players  wisely  :  Miss  Rose 
Ey tinge  {Laura),  Mortimer  (Smokey,  the  soldier  mes- 
senger), Mrs.  Skerrett  (Peachblossom,  a  favorite  part 
afterwards  with  Mrs.  John  Wood),  and  Charles  T.  Parsloe 
(Bermudas  the  street  boy).  Daly  wanted  E.  L.  Daven- 
port for  Byke,  a  sort  of  New  York  Bill  Sykes,  but  had  to 
be  satisfied  with  J.  B.  Studley,  who  was  admirable  in  it. 
Another  accident  of  the  first  night  was  the  rather  mellow 
condition  in  which  Walsh  Edwards  came  on  the  bench  in 
the  courtroom  scene  as  Judge  Bowlmg  (made  up  to  re- 
semble Judge  Dowling)  and  nearly  drove  Daly  wild  with 
his  rambling.  Judge  Dowling  next  day  was  good-hu- 
mored over  the  incident. 

An  account  of  the  extraordinary  success  of  the  new 
play  reached  the  veteran  dramatist  Boucicault  in  London, 
and  he  immediately  appropriated  the  leading  incident 
and  reproduced  it  in  a  drama  of  London  life  called  "After 
Dark."  With  singular  fatuity  Boucicault  sold  and  Jar- 
rett  and  Palmer  bought  the  piece  for  America,  and  not- 
withstanding the  warnings  of  the  American  author,  whose 
piece  was  copyrighted,  it  was  presented  at  Niblo's  Gar- 
den. Action  for  injunction  was  immediately  begun  in  the 
Federal  Court,  and  the  application  for  an  interim  writ 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  77 

was  argued  before  the  late  Judge  Blatchford.  The  writ 
was  granted,  and  the  management  of  Niblo's  immediately 
made  terms,  paying  Daly  a  royalty  for  each  performance. 
Daly  wished  his  friend,  A.  Oakey  Hall  (then  district 
attorney),  to  undertake  the  case  on  his  behalf,  but  the 
following  note  explained  why  he  was  compelled  to  refuse : 

"My  dear  Daly 

Can't.  Palmer  has  been  my  client,  —  you  have  been.  I 
wouldn't  act  for  him  against  you  —  I  couldn't  act  against  him 
for  you. 

Daly  &  nightly  Yours 
by  Gaslight  &  Otherwise 
O.  K.  H." 

The  choice  of  counsel  being  then  left  to  me,  I  immedi- 
ately selected  the  late  William  Tracy,  and  upon  his  ad- 
vice retained  an  advocate  of  marked  literary  attainments, 
little  known  in  New  York,  who  had  lately  come  to  our  Bar 
from  Baltimore,  where  he  had  an  established  reputation. 
This  was  the  late  Thomas  S.  Alexander.  A  more  fortu- 
nate selection  could  not  have  been  made.  His  clear  and 
impressive  discussion  of  the  points  of  the  case  prevailed 
against  the  skill  of  experienced  theatrical  lawyers,  W,  D. 
Booth  of  New  York  and  T.  W.  Clarke  of  Boston. 

Not  only  was  "Under  the  Gaslight"  played  In  every 
city,  but  for  many  months  the  vaudevilllsts,  "sketch 
artists,"  variety  performers,  and  minstrel  troupes  were 
inventing  burlesque  "acts"  of  the  railroad  scene.  These 
travesties  were  so  many  evidences  of  the  wide  and  strong 
impression  which  the  new  play  had  made.  From  the 
day  of  its  production  in  1867  to  the  present  time  it  has 
continued  to  hold  the  stage  as  a  "Peoples'  Play,"  as  our 
German  friends  would  style  It,  and  has  been  played  per- 
haps oftener  than  any  other  melodrama  in  the  English 
language. 


78  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

The  Worrell  sisters  got  Mr.  Daly  to  dramatize  Henry 
Ward  Beecher's  novel  "Norwood,"  then  publishing  in 
the  New  York  Ledger,  for  production  on  their  own  ac- 
count. Mr.  Robert  Bonner,  the  proprietor  of  the  paper, 
had  tempted  Mr.  Beecher  to  make  this  excursion  into  a 
new  field.  The  dramatization  was  no  better  than  the 
novel.  The  only  hit  was  made  by  the  youngest  sister. 
Miss  Jennie,  as  The  Hardscrahhle  Boy,  and  that  only  after 
she  had  vainly  expostulated  with  the  author  about  being 
put  in  trousers  : 

"Boston,  Revere  House. 
Oct.  21,  '67. 
Mr.  Daly, 

Dear  Sir :  I  have  just  received  the  part,  like  it  very  much, 
with  one  exception  and  that  is  wearing  the  boy's  dress  all 
through  the  piece.  You  know  that  style  of  dress  is  not  adapted 
to  me  but  I  am  willing  to  play  it  but  am  confident  I  can  not  do 
it  justice  never  before  attempting  one  of  that  kind  therefore  it 
will  be  very  diflScult.  I  write  in  the  hope  that  you  will  contrive 
to  have  me  wear  a  girl's  dress  in  the  first  part,  then  wear  the 
bags  from  the  battle  scene  until  the  end  of  the  piece.  I  am  cer- 
tain it  will  not  interfere  with  the  text  for  I  have  carefully  read 
the  part  over.  It  is  very  embarrassing  for  me  but  if  absolutely 
necessary  for  it  to  remain  as  it  is  at  present  I  will  play  it  but  am 
not  responsible  for  the  consequences.  I  am  honorable  you  see 
to  tell  you  before-hand  so  you  will  not  be  disappointed,  but  if 
you  do  me  a  favor  which  I  shall  ever  be  grateful  I  shall  en- 
deavor to  arrange  all  satisfactory.  The  girl's  dress  shall  be  just 
as  you  desire  if  you  will  only  comply  with  this  request  and 
answer  please  as  soon  as  convenient  you  will  greatly  oblige 

Yours 

Jennie  C.  Worrell 
Please  excuse  all  haste." 

It  not  being  within  the  range  of  the  adapter's  license 
to  put   Mr.  Beecher's    tough    little  boy  into  skirts,  the 


THE   LIFE  OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  79 

"bags"  had  to  go  through  the  piece,  and  the  Boy  and 
Peter  carried  off  the  honors  in  their  dialogue  on  the  arts 
of  war. 

Daly's  last  work  for  the  same  theatre  was  a  dramatiza- 
tion of  Dickens'  "Pickwick  Papers."  ^  It  is  safe  to  say 
that  nearly  every  playwright  of  the  period  had  attempted 
that  work.  To  put  it  as  a  whole  upon  the  stage  is  impos- 
sible ;  and  to  get  all  the  fun  there  is  in  it  out  of  it  by  any 
arrangement  of  scene  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  feats  of 
the  dramatist's  art.  It  appealed  strongly  to  Daly,  and 
he  made  an  exceedingly  amusing  play  of  it,  casting  George 
Clarke  as  Bob  Sawyer  (fearfully  made  up  to  double  the 
"scorbutic  youth"  of  Bob's  little  party),  J.  B.  Studley  as 
Jingle  (melodramatic  actors  always  take  to  the  part  — 
Henry  Irving  did  afterwards,  and  was  immense  in  it), 
Parsloe  as  Sam  Weller  (and  he  was  excellent),  H.  C. 
Ryner  as  Pickwick  (a  capital  makeup),  and  William 
Carleton  as  Winkle.  Celia  Logan  was  Arabella  Allen 
and  Jennie  Worrell  Mary  the  housemaid.  To  those  who 
have  puzzled  over  the  possible  arrangement  of  scenes 
from  the  varied  and  extensive  pictures  between  the 
covers  of  the  book,  I  give  Mr.  Daly's  selection  in  the 
order  presented  : 

Act  First.         The  shooting  party  and  elopement  at  Wardle's  in 
Dingley  Dell. 
Scene  second.     The  White  Horse    Inn  and  Mr. 

Samuel  Weller. 
Scene  third.     At  Mrs.  Bardell's,  Goswell  Street. 
Act  Second.     The  Marquis  of  Granby  Inn.     Mrs.  Weller  and 
Mr.  Stlggins,  the  Red-nosed  man. 
Scene  second.     The  double-bedded  room  and  the 
adventure  of  the  lady  in  yellow  curl-papers. 
Act  Third.       The  election  and  riot  at  Ipswich. 

1  Jan.  22,  1868. 


8o  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

Scene    second.      Jingle's    adventure    at    Mayor 

Nupkins'. 
Scene  third.     The  preparation  for  the  trial. 
Scene  fourth.     Mr.  Bob  Sawyer's  little  Party. 
Act  Fourth.     The  great  trial  of  the  breach  of  promise  case, 

Bardell  versus  Pickwick. 
Scene    second.     The    adventure    of    the    Garden 

Wall. 
Scene    last.     Christmas    festivities    at    Dingley 

Dell. 

Immediately  after  the  production  of  "Pickwick  Papers," 
work  was  commenced  on  a  new  sensational  drama,  "A 
Flash  of  Lightning,"  for  a  summer  season  at  the  Broad- 
way Theatre  (the  little  old  house  near  Broome  Street, 
once  the  scene  of  Wallack's  and  Brougham's  triumphs, 
and  now  managed  by  Barney  Williams).  The  author 
was  indebted  for  the  chief  incident  in  his  last  act  to  the 
French  drama  "La  Perle  Noir,"  but  the  plot  and  char- 
acters were  wholly  original.  There  were  remarkable 
pictures  of  the  burning  of  a  North  River  steamboat. 
An  inventor  told  Mr.  Daly  he  had  unknowingly  disclosed 
a  source  of  danger  from  steamboat  furnaces  that  was 
commonly  overlooked.  Going  home  one  night,  Mr.  Daly 
heard  a  boyish  voice  of  wonderful  power  flooding  the 
night  air  with  "Garibaldi's  Hymn"  and  "Santa  Lucia." 
Tracing  the  music  to  a  back  street,  he  came  upon  two  little 
Italian  wandering  minstrels.  With  his  usual  enterprise 
he  added  them  and  their  parent  to  his  collection  of  human 
documents  for  his  forthcoming  play.  McKee  Rankin 
and  his  attractive  wife,  Kitty  Blanchard,  had  two  of  the 
chief  parts,  with  J.  K.  Mortimer  and  Miss  Blanche  Grey. 

The  press  was  very  kind  to  the  new  play.  With  re- 
gard to  literary  merit  it  was  pronounced  "the  master 
production  of  its  author." 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  8i 

Just  before  the  production  of  his  play  my  brother  was 
seized  with  an  attack  of  illness  which  threatened  to  be- 
come dangerous.  It  began  with  a  succession  of  violent 
cramps  in  the  stomach.  Although  he  recovered  in  an 
incredibly  short  time,  he  was  for  many  years  visited  with 
the  same  symptoms  when  under  great  strain  of  mind  or 
body. 

Just  after  the  summer  season  of  1868  Daly's  interest 
was  enlisted  on  behalf  of  an  interesting  newcomer  from 
England.  This  was  Mrs.  Scott-Siddons,  who  came  with 
much  social  prestige  and  some  fame  as  a  Shakespearian 
reader,  and  who  had  a  stage  experience  of  one  season. 
She  was  said  to  be  a  great-niece  of  the  famous  Mrs.  Sid- 
dons,  sister  of  the  Kembles,  and  was  a  petite  brunette  with 
beauty,  intelligence,  refinement,  and  charm.  Her  stage 
voice  was  a  singular  one  —  a  sort  of  musical  chant  strange 
to  the  ear,  and  into  which  the  lines  of  but  one  character, 
Rosalind,  seemed  to  fall  agreeably.  She  was  not,  however, 
the  realization  of  Shakespeare's  sprightliest  maid  in  all 
respects,  for  instead  of  being  "more  than  common  tall" 
she  was  considerably  less,  and  could  no  more  convincingly 
assume  "a  swashing  and  a  martial  outside"  than  could 
Ariel  or  Titania.  In  fact  she  was  Rosalind  played  by  a 
sprite.  She  appeared  two  weeks  in  December,  1868,  at 
the  New  York  Theatre  in  Rosalind,  Juliet,  Lady  Teazle, 
Julia  in  "The  Hunchback,"  Katharine,  and  King  Rene's 
Daughter. 

The  year  1869  opened  happily  with  my  brother's  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Mary  Duff.  This  took  place  on  January 
9.  His  fair  and  youthful  bride  was  the  daughter  of 
Mr.  John  A.  DuiT,  proprietor  of  the  Olympic  Theatre,  in 
which  he  had  installed  another  son-in-law  (Mr.  James  E. 
Hayes)  as  manager,  and  which  was  then  the  most  profit- 
able  place   of   amusement   in   the   city.     The   bride   was 


82  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

brought  home  to  our  house,  No.  214  West  25th  Street, 
and  there  my  brother's  only  children  were  born,  — 
Leonard  in  1870  and  Francis  in  1873. 

The  work  of  dramatic  writing  went  on  energetically. 
A  version  of  Sardou's  "Nos  Bons  Villageois"  was  pre- 
pared for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Conway  under  the  title  of  "Hazar- 
dous Ground";  a  Polish  revolutionary  drama,  "Sanya, 
or  the  Red  Ribbon,"  was  written  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E.  E. 
Tiffany,  and  a  sensational  play,  "The  Red  Scarf,"  for 
Miss  Sallie  Partington,  was  produced  at  the  Conways' 
theatre. 

One  of  the  oddest  commissions  ever  received  by  a  play- 
wright was  from  a  citizen  from  the  West  who  came  to 
New  York  with  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Mr.  Daly  from 
Mr.  Mark  M.  Pomeroy  of  the  Lacrosse  Democrat.  The 
citizen  in  question  had  been  engaged  in  a  campaign  for 
municipal  reform  in  his  town,  and  had  conceived  the  in- 
genious idea  of  representing  the  wicked  "combine"  of 
the  local  "boodlers"  on  the  stage.  Whether  this  was  an 
effective  plan  for  causing  the  wicked  to  flee  is  a  matter  of 
opinion.  "Grafters"  have  thick  skins  and  laughter  often 
disarms  justice.  But  it  was  not  a  bad  thought  to  enlist 
in  the  effort  for  reform  all  the  great  agencies  of  good  — 
the  pulpit,  press,  and  stage;  and  Daly,  working  on  the 
plot  furnished  by  the  amiable  reformer,  did  his  utmost 
to  make  the  villains  not  only  hateful,  but  ridiculous. 
His  client  was  delighted,  and  afterwards  wrote  that  he 
had  been  either  indicted  or  sued  for  damages  —  I  forget 
which.     The  play  was  evidently  a  go  ! 

Having  given  hostages  to  fortune  by  his  marriage,  and 
impelled  by  his  life-long  ambition,  Augustin  determined 
to  acquire  a  theatre  of  his  own  and  to  put  into  practice 
long-considered  theories  of  management.  Suddenly  the 
beautiful    little  theatre  in   Twenty-fourth    Street,  which 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  83 

James  Fisk,  Jr.,  had  built  for  John  Brougham,  came  into 
the  market  after  Brougham  had  failed  as  manager,  and 
after  a  season  of  opera  bouflFe,  undertaken  by  Mr.  Fisk 
himself,  had  begun  to  languish.  To  this,  the  most  elegant 
playhouse  in  America,  Daniel  Harkins,  who  had  un- 
bounded faith  in  his  former  manager's  ability,  directed 
Mr.  Daly's  attention. 


SECOND    PERIOD:   1 869-1 873 


CHAPTER   VIII 

The  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  and  Daly's  first  season.  Lease  from  James 
Fisk,  Junior.  Six  weeks'  rent  in  advance.  Father-in-law  Duff's 
grim  humor.  Courage,  self-reliance,  and  ideals.  Prospectus. 
Surprises  for  press  and  profession.  The  new  company.  Well- 
known  names.  Unknown  names.  Daly  breaks  with  tradition. 
His  own  stage  director.  Opening  night.  "Play"  introduces 
Agnes  Ethel.  Its  successor,  "Dreams,"  introduces  James  Lewis. 
"London  Assurance"  introduces  Fanny  Davenport.  Uphill 
work.  Undeterred  by  criticism.  "I  let  tongues  wag  as  they 
please."  Mrs.  Scott-Siddons'  engagement.  E.  L.  Davenport  in 
Sir  Giles  Overreach.  Old  Comedies  and  Daly's  Saturday  nights 
the  vogue.  Olive  Logan's  "Surf."  Last  appearance  of  the 
veteran  George  Holland.  Effect  upon  the  company  of  the  long 
struggle.  All  work,  all  play,  and  no  decisive  hit.  Twenty-one 
new  productions  in  six  months,  of  which  eleven  were  classics  of 
the  stage.     At  last  the  tide  turns. 

To  James  Fisk,  Jr.,  proprietor  of  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Theatre,  went  the  young  Augustin  to  inquire  the  terms 
for  a  lease.  Fisk  was  easily  found  in  the  offices  of  the 
Erie  Railway  Company,  which  with  Jay  Gould  he  con- 
trolled. He  probably  had  never  heard  of  Daly.  In 
reply  to  his  question  "What  security  can  you  give?" 
the  answer  was  "None."  "Then,"  said  Fisk,  "you  must 
pay  six  weeks'  rent  in  advance.  The  rent  is  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  a  year."  The  financier  estimated  from 
experience  the  lasting  powers  of  the  ordinary  ambitious 
manager.  Singularly  enough,  six  weeks  was  the  length 
of  time  which  Mr.  Duff  had  given  his  son-in-law  "to  get 
into  the  poor-house,"  as  he  humorously  expressed  it  when 
informed  of  the  venture.  No  one  would  believe  at  that 
time   that   Daly   was    not   backed   by   his   father-in-law. 

87 


88  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

The  impression  in  the  newspaper  and  theatrical  world  was, 
as  one  writer  expressed  it,  that  "he  would  not  be  per- 
mitted to  fail"  ;  yet  it  was  a  fact  that  this  undertaking, 
like  all  his  prior  ones,  was  without  a  dream  of  such  aid. 

When  he  returned  from  his  visit  to  Fisk,  he  came  Imme- 
diately to  talk  it  over  with  me,  —  we  had  been  together 
in  everything,  and  we  must  be  together  in  this.  His 
enthusiasm  was  unbounded:  "it  was  folly  to  stop  and 
count  the  cost,  much  less  the  risk.  The  talented  and 
experienced  Brougham  had  failed  here,  but  Brougham  had 
failed  in  his  theatre  on  Broadway  in  185 1,  and  Wallack, 
who  succeeded  him,  had  made  a  brilliant  success.  If  you 
pause  to  consider  the  chances  of  failure,  you  will  never 
accomplish  anything.  Here  was  opportunity."  There 
was  no  dross  of  material  consideration  that  was  not  con- 
sumed in  the  flame  of  his  desire  to  work  out  his  ideals. 
The  next  day  he  waited  upon  Fisk  with  a  check.  The 
stupefaction  of  the  Erie  magnate  was  noticeable.  He 
looked  at  the  slip  of  paper  for  some  moments,  and  then 
remarked,  "This  is  the  first  man  with  money  I  have 
ever  seen  in  the  theatrical  business!"  A  lease  for  two 
years  was  duly  drawn  and  executed,  and  the  young 
manager  with  swelling  heart  unlocked  the  doors  of  the 
theatre  and  surveyed  the  property  which  was  now  his 
own.  As  he  said,  "I  went  upon  the  stage  and  felt  as 
one  who  treads  the  deck  of  a  ship  as  its  master."  His 
prospectus  was  startling  :  "The  production  of  whatever 
is  novel,  original,  entertaining  and  unobjectionable,  and 
the  revival  of  whatever  Is  rare  and  worthy,  in  the  legiti- 
mate drama."  Considering  the  reputation  of  Wallack's, 
then  in  its  prime,  for  classic  comedy,  the  Intention  of  the 
new  manager  seemed  audacious,  even  reprehensible,  In 
view  of  possible  Injury  to  the  old  masters  in  crude  at- 
tempts to  restore  them. 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  89 

His  list  of  engagements  added  to  the  wonder.  There 
were  E.  L.  Davenport,  a  tragic  star,  but  one  of  the  most 
versatile  actors  on  the  boards ;  William  Davidge,  a 
veteran  of  the  old  flavor,  who  never  failed  to  make  his 
appearance  in  the  mixed  companies  hastily  gathered  for 
occasional  revivals  of  old  comedy  or  attempts  at  modern 
burlesque,  but  a  reliable  standby  all  the  same ;  George 
Holland,  who  had  grown  so  old  that  he  was  retired  from. 
Wallack's,  but  not  from  the  aff"ections  of  the  public;  J. 
B.  Peck,  who  had  been  one  of  Wallack's  young  men ;  D. 
H.  Harkins,  who  had  supported  Forrest ;  and  George 
Clarke,  a  handsome  youth  beginning  to  win  favor.  On 
the  ladies'  side  were  Mrs.  Clara  Jennings,  formerly  leading 
woman  at  Wallack's ;  Mrs.  Marie  Wilkins  from  the 
London  stage ;  Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert,  fondly  remembered 
as  the  Marquise  St.  Maur  in  "Caste"  and  the  Indian 
schoolmarm  in  "Pocahontas";  and  Mrs.  Chanfrau,  the 
beautiful  Esther  Eccles.  Among  the  unknown  names  were 
Fanny  Davenport  and  Agnes  Ethel.  There  was  another 
—  James  Lewis. ^  What  Daly  was  to  do  with  a  burlesque 
performer  (he  had  been  last  seen  as  Lucrezia  Borgia) 
no  one  knew.  Robert  Stoepel,  a  well-known  composer, 
was  to  conduct  the  orchestra.  William  Saunders,  a 
veteran  stage  carpenter,  was  machinist.  The  scenic 
artists  promised  well :  James  Roberts  and  Charles 
Duflocq. 

It  was  apparent  at  once  that  the  newcomer  intended 
to  restore  forgotten  and  discarded  personalities  as  well  as 
to  bring  forward  unfriended  youth.  It  seemed  to  old 
professionals  that  his  force  covered  a  wide  range,  but  that 
there  were  many  "lines"  vacant.     But  here  came  the  sur- 

^  Others  were  Amy  Ames,  Roberta  Norwood,  Marie  Longmore,  Emilie  Kiehl, 
Emily  Lewis,  Misses  Tyson  and  Rowland,  J.  F.  Egbert,  George  Jordan,  Jr., 
F.  Chapman,  W.  Beekman,  H.  C.  Ryner,  H.  Stewart,  J.  M.  Cooke,  and  Messrs. 
Pierce  and  Peck. 


90  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

prise.  His  purpose  was  to  break  away  from  tradition ; 
to  free  actors  from  the  trammels  of  "  lines  "  into  which  they 
had  settled  as  in  a  groove.  It  was  with  a  great  wrench 
that  the  old  favorites  were  pried  out  of  the  rut,  but  the 
result  was  soon  a  mobile  force,  adaptable  and  creative. 
He  astonished  his  players  by  throwing  them  into  parts  for 
which  they  thought  they  had  no  fitness.  They  were  one 
day  dejected  over  their  tasks,  and  the  next  elated  with  the 
success  they  had  achieved.  To  do  this  all  tradition  had  to 
be  washed  out  and  all  rank  levelled.  In  his  engagements 
there  was  one  rule  :  "My  line,"  began  the  veteran,  "is  — " 
Mr.  Daly  interrupted  gently :  "There  is  no  line  in 
this  theatre;  you  do  everything."  It  was  revolutionary 
but  successful.  Then  the  dignity  of  the  profession  was 
secured  by  impartial  rules.  The  humblest  personage  had 
rights  equal  to  the  favorites  of  the  public.  All  could 
come  to  the  manager  with  a  grievance.  From  the  begin- 
ning he  got  the  reputation  of  an  unyielding  disciplinarian, 
but  if  he  was  rigid  with  others,  he  also  sacrificed  himself. 
It  was  soon  seen  that  no  one  else  could  do  so  much  with 
men  and  women  of  the  stage  as  he. 

In  this  first  season's  company  were  two  young  women 
of  whom,  as  of  others,  it  has  been  customary  to  say  that 
Daly  found  them  inexperienced  beginners  and  made  them 
famous  actresses.  They  were  Miss  Davenport  and  Miss 
Ethel.  Fanny  Vining  (or  Davenport,  when  she  took 
her  stepfather's  name)  came  of  an  old  theatrical  family. 
She  joined  the  company  with  Mr.  Davenport  in  her  nine- 
teenth year,  and  notwithstanding  her  rawness  the  first 
part  given  her  was  a  leading  one  in  old  comedy.  When 
she  was  announced  for  Lady  Gay  Spanker  in  "London 
Assurance,"  an  indignant  editor  called  it  New  York  as- 
surance. Yet  she  ultimately  became  the  best  Lady  Gay 
of  her   time.     What    Daly  saw  in   her  besides   dazzling 


Fanny  Davenport 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  91 

beauty,  splendid  presence,  and  blooming  health  were 
confidence  and  self-possession.  They  were  remarkably 
tested  in  another  early  part  —  that  of  Countess  W Autreval 
in  "Checkmate,  or  a  Duel  in  Love,"  a  one-act  version  of 
Scribe's  "La  Bataille  des  Dames,"  in  which  she  had  to 
be  substituted  for  Mrs.  Chanfrau  at  a  few  hours'  notice 
and  with  only  one  rehearsal.  On  the  first  night,  owing  to 
an  unlucky  slip  of  memory  of  one  of  the  actors,  the  lines 
and  business  of  the  play  fell  into  the  utmost  confusion, 
and  the  whole  comedy  would  have  been  wrecked  if  Miss 
Davenport  had  not  with  the  greatest  presence  of  mind  and 
inspiriting  force  caught  up  the  threads  of  the  dialogue, 
restored  the  cues,  skilfully  interwoven  them,  and  rallied 
the  actors  ;  until,  without  the  audience  perceiving  the  least 
halt,  the  performance  passed  to  a  triumphant  conclusion. 

Agnes  Ethel,  a  few  years  older  than  Fanny  Davenport, 
was  a  pupil  of  Matilda  Heron,  and  was  brought  out,  a 
few  months  before  Daly  engaged  her,  in  the  small  theatre 
of  the  Union  League  Club,  then  in  Twenty-sixth  Street. 
Her  part  was  Camille,  of  which  she  was  not  an  ideal. rep- 
resentative. What  the  audience  saw  was  a  slender  figure, 
candid  eyes,  flowing  auburn  hair,  an  oval  face,  and  regular 
features  always  lit  up  by  an  expression  of  childish  appeal. 
These  and  a  low  voice  of  penetrating  quality  dwelt  in  the 
public  memory  from  the  moment  she  appeared  on  the 
Fifth  Avenue  stage.  Her  gifts  were  not  varied  or  marked, 
but  she  filled  the  eye  and  the  ear  so  completely  that  no 
one  asked  for  more. 

But  the  most  striking  revelation  of  adaptability  was  in 
the  modestly  announced  "Mr.  James  Lewis."  A  very 
young  man  who  had  made  in  a  small  way  some  acceptable 
appearances  in  brief  seasons  of  burlesque  and  extrav- 
aganza, he  was  given,  in  the  first  two  seasons  at  this 
theatre,  a  range  of  parts  in  which  the  ordinary  lines  of 


92  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN    DALY 

theatrical  business  were  so  crossed  and  opposed  as  to 
bewilder  the  most  experienced  professionals  of  the  period. 
Through  the  range  of  low  comedy,  high  comedy,  "juve- 
niles," and  "first  old  men"  Lewis  moved  with  equal 
facility.  In  the  first  season  he  played  the  cheeky  young 
shopman  John  Hibbs  in  "Dreams,"  and  the  mature  and 
eccentric  Baron  de  Cambri  in  "  Frou-Frou."  In  the  second 
season  he  was  the  elderly  and  dignified  Sir  Patrick  Lundie 
in  "Man  and  Wife,"  and  the  flighty  young  Bob  Sackett  in 
"Saratoga."  Between  these  he  was  Marplot  in  the 
"Busybody,"  Feste  in  "Twelfth  Night,"  and  Major  de 
Boots  —  and  excellent  in  all.  Tradition  was  routed  in 
the  case  of  Lewis. 

For  stage  manager  the  choice  fell  upon  Harkins,  an 
actor  of  experience,  heavy  build,  and  forcible  manner, 
with  a  voice  of  remarkable  resonance  that  made  his 
utterance  of  Shakespeare's  lines  delightful.  He  was  well 
read,  and  possessed  an  energy  and  zeal  which  often  re- 
quired to  be  kept  in  check.  He  was  greatly  elated  over 
his  appointment  as  stage  manager  of  such  a  company  in 
such  a  theatre,  and  he  immediately  proceeded  to  lay  down 
his  course  with  great  clearness  to  his  manager:  "I  tell 
you  my  policy,  Mr.  Daly  —  when  I  am  on  the  stage  I 
permit  no  one  to  interfere  with  me."  "Just  my  policy, 
Harkins,"  said  Mr.  Daly  smilingly.  "When  I  am  on  the 
stage  I  permit  no  one  to  interfere  with  me!''''  This  pro- 
duced an  excellent  understanding,  which  was  never 
interrupted.  There  was  no  vanity  in  this  policy  of  Daly's  ; 
he  was  absolutely  free  from  that  weakness.  When  he 
took  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre,  the  initials  of  the  former 
manager  John  Brougham  adorned  the  summit  of  the  pro- 
scenium arch,  and  they  were  never  removed. 

One  special  gift  of  Daly  remains  to  be  noticed  —  that 
of  prompt  decision,   which   doubles   the  value   of  every 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  93 

other  gift.  By  reason  of  it  men  are  singled  out  from  the 
ranks  in  great  industries  and  put  in  command.  By  it  pro- 
fessional men  achieve  in  law,  in  medicine,  in  the  sciences, 
reputation  and  fortune.  I  once  said  to  my  brother 
in  discussing  his  swiftness  of  decision,  "But  you  make 
mistakes."*"  "Yes,"  he  replied,  "perhaps  in  half  the 
cases ;  but  that  is  the  average  of  the  people  who  stop  to 
weigh  every  consideration ;  and  I  have  this  advantage 
over  them  —  I  don't  lose  an  opportunity." 

The  beginning  of  a  new  era  in  American  stage  history 
was  the  night  of  August  16,  1869,  when  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Theatre  was  opened  "under  the  management  of  Augustin 
Daly"  with  T.  W.  Robertson's  "Play."  This  gossamer 
comedy,  presented  with  all  that  was  delicately  harmonious 
in  personages,  dress,  and  scenery,  created  at  once  the 
atmosphere  that  was  henceforth  to  be  familiar  in  this 
house.  The  little  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre,  far  out  of  the 
zone  of  theatres,  was  about  half  filled  on  that  mid- 
summer night,  but  the  audience  was  of  the  kind  that  never 
afterwards  changed  in  its  appreciation  of  what  was  now 
doing  for  the  elevation  of  the  stage.  The  bright  and 
happy  faces  on  the  stage  were  those  of  Agnes  Ethel,  Mrs. 
Jennings,  Mrs.  Gilbert,  E.  L.  Davenport,  Flolland, 
Davidge,  Clarke,  and  Polk.  Davenport's  grand  presence 
lent  dignity  to  the  slight  part  of  the  Hon.  Bruce  Farquhar, 
and  the  alluring  presence  of  Agnes  Ethel  as  Rosie  capti- 
vated the  senses. 

The  same  cast  presented  Robertson's  "Dreams"  on 
September  6 ;  James  Lewis  was  now  introduced  as  the 
commercial  traveller  John  Hibbs.  All  the  characters  in 
the  play  had  a  descriptive  couplet  on  the  programme, 
and  Lewis'  was  appropriately  : 

"We  meet  thee  like  a  pleasant  thought 
When  such  are  needed." 


94  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

In  his  next  part,  Bob  in  "Old  Heads  and  Young  Hearts," 
a  valet  masquerading  as  a  limb  of  the  law,  he  displayed 
for  the  first  time  his  genius  for  "making  up"  by  giving 
a  startling  (and  probably  accidental)  imitation  of  the 
crabbed  countenance  of  a  well-known  New  York  lawyer 
of  the  old  school,  then  still  in  practice. 

Miss  Davenport  made  her  debut  in  the  next  production, 
"London  Assurance."  Mr.  Davenport's  Sir  Harcourt 
Courtly  was  the  finest  representation  of  the  part  ever 
seen  in  New  York,  consummately  polished,  blase,  arrogant, 
and  infatuated.  Miss  Davenport  played  with  high  spirit 
and  confidence,  and  was  approved  by  her  manager,  for 
she  came  up  to  his  ideal  of  the  part.  It  has  ruined  many 
a  Lady  Gay  to  be  too  sophisticated.  Miss  Davenport's 
brusque  cajolery  was  exactly  in  place.  What  the  critics 
thought  did  not  change  the  manager's  opinion.  He  had 
the  indispensable  gift  of  disregarding  criticism  when  he 
felt  he  was  right.  He  was  not  indifferent  to  it,  was 
indeed  extremely  sensitive  to  the  mildest  censure ;  yet 
he  was  not  deterred  by  it.  He  adopted  as  his  motto  a 
line  from  Goethe:  "What  I  have  done  I  have  done  in  a 
kingly  fashion.  I  let  tongues  wag  as  they  pleased. 
That  I  knew  to  be  right,  that  I  did." 

The  dainty  Mrs.  Scott-Siddons  was  next  brought  on 
in  a  fresh  and  buoyant  production  of  "Twelfth  Night," 
the  first  Shakespearian  revival  of  the  Daly  management. 
Her  Viola  was  supported  by  Miss  Ethel's  Olivia^  Miss 
Davenport's  Maria,  Harkins'  Orsino,  Davidge's  Sir 
Toby,  Polk's  Sir  Andrew,  Clarke's  Malvolio,  and  Lewis' 
Clown}  Polk  was  one  of  the  best  and  least  exaggerated 
of  AguecheekSj  and  Davidge  a  perfect  Sir  Toby  in  manner 

^  Oct.  4,  1869.  The  remainder  of  the  cast  included  Chapman  as  Fabian, 
Ryner  as  Antonio,  Egbert  as  Sebastian,  Pierce  as  the  Friar,  Cooke  as  Roberto, 
Beekman  as  the  Justice,  Jordan  as  Valentine,  and  Stewart  as  Curio. 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  95 

and  looks.  "As  You  Like  It"  followed,  and  the  sing- 
song of  Mrs.  Scott-Siddons  was  like  the  carol  of  a  bird  in 
the  forest  of  Arden.  Mrs.  Jennings  was  Celia  on  the  first 
night,  and  they  exchanged  parts  from  night  to  night. 
Young  Clarke  was  a  romantic  Orlando,  and  Harkins'  fine 
and  distinct  declamation  was  enjoyed  in  Jaques.  Davidge 
was  the  Touchstone  in  those  days  ;  Lewis'  fine  Jester  was 
to  come  with  experience.^  Mrs.  Siddons  was  presented 
in  three  other  revivals  before  the  termination  of  her 
visit:  Henrik  Hertz'  "King  Rene's  Daughter,"  ^ 
Gibber's  "She  Would  and  She  Would  Not, "^  and  "Much 
Ado  about  Nothing,"  ^  the  third  Shakespearian  revival 
by  Daly.  Mrs.  Scott-Siddons  was  then  in  her  twenty-fifth 
year,  and  full  of  a  demure  vitality.  Not  great  in  any 
part,  she  was  charming  in  everything.  Her  Hypolita  in 
Gibber's  play  (not  seen  in  New  York  since  1858)  was 
supported  by  Glarke's  Don  Philip,  Davidge's  Don  Manuel, 
Harkins'  Don  Octavio,  Lewis'  Trapanti,  George  Hol- 
land's Diego,  Miss  Ethel's  Donna  Rosara,  Miss  Daven- 
port's Violetta,  and  Miss  Longmore's  Flora.  Equally 
strong  was  the  cast  of  "Much  Ado  about  Nothing." 
Mrs.  Siddons  was,  of  course,  Beatrice  (rather  a  spirited 
child  than  a  woman),  Harkins  Benedick,  Polk  Don  Pedro, 
Egbert  Don  John,  F.  H.  Evans  Claudio,  Glarke  Leonato, 
Ryner  Antonio,  Pierce  Balthazar,  Ghapman  Borachio, 
Stewart  Conrade,  Davidge  Dogberry,  Holland  Verges, 
Beekman  Sexton,  Beneux  Seacoal,  Jordan  Friar  Francis, 
Miss  Ethel  Hero,  Miss   Kiehl   Margaret,  and  Miss  Lewis 

1  The  rest  of  the  cast,  Oct.  i8,  1869,  was:  Banished  Duke,  Polk;  Duke 
Frederick,  Cooke;  Amiens,  Stewart;  Oliver,  Jordan;  Jaques  de  Bois,  Pierce; 
Adam,  Ryner;  Charles,  the  Wrestler,  Feck;  Sy/czM/,  Egbert;  Corzw,  Chapman ; 
William,  Beekman;    and  Audrey,  Mrs.  Wilkins. 

2  Oct.  22,  1869. 

3  Oct.  25,  1869. 
^Nov.  8,  1869. 


96  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Ursula.  During  the  Siddons  season  there  was  a  revival 
of  Sheridan  Knowles'  "Love  Chase,"  to  afford  Mrs. 
Wilkins  an  appearance  in  Widozv  Green,  a  part  which  she 
had  quite  made  her  own  in  England.  She  was  assisted 
by  Miss  Ethel  as  Constance,  Davidge  as  Fondlove,  Clarke 
as  Wildrake,  and  Harkins  as  Waller;  but  the  comedy 
proved  to  be  too  antiquated  to  please.^ 

The  departure  of  Mrs.  Siddons  (upon  a  theatrical  tour) 
seemed  to  affect  the  public,  for  there  was  a  falling  off  of 
patronage  at  once,  although  "Caste"  was  revived  2 
to  give  Mrs.  Chanfrau  in  her  lovely  portraiture  of  Esther 
Eccles,^  and  "A  New  Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts"  was  put 
on  to  show  a  great  representation  —  Davenport's  Sir 
Giles  Overreach.'^  Then  in  rapid  succession  came  Pal- 
grave  Simpson's  "Second  Love,"  ^  Sterling  Coyne's 
"Everybody's  Friend,"^  and  Scribe's  "Checkmate" 
(which  has  already  been  noticed).  After  that  came  a 
notable  revival,  Mrs.  Inchbald's  "Wives  as  They  Were 
and  Maids  as  They  Are, "  for  the  first  time  in  thirty  years  ; 
then  Andrew  Halliday's  "Daddy  Gray,"  Boucicault's 
"The  Irish  Heiress,"  and  Scribe's  "Don  Cesar  de  Bazan." 
In  the  hope  of  stimulating  the  public  fancy,  an  elaborate 
production  of  "The  Duke's  Motto,"  a  brilliant  attraction 
a  few  years  before  at  Niblo's,  was  staged ;  and  then  Mrs. 
Centlivre's  "Busybody."  The  last  was  one  of  the  plays 
that  now  began  to  make  Daly's  Saturday  nights  famous. 
His  constant  patrons  acquired  the  habit  of  ending  the  week 
at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre,  but  something  more  was 
needed  to  establish  the  new  enterprise. 

Some  hopes  were  based  upon  Mrs.  Olive  Logan  Sike's' 
"Surf,"  which  was  an  "up  to  date"  comedy  of  American 

iQct.  22,  1869.  2  Nov.  15,  1869. 

3  With  Miss  Davenport  as  Polly,  Mrs.  Gilbert  as  Marquise  D'Alroy,  Lewis 
as  Gerridgf,  Polk  as  Hawtrey,  and  the  inimitable  Eccles  of  Davidge. 

«Nov.  23,  1869.  ^Nov.  12,  1869.  «Nov.  25,  1869. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  97 

life  and  had  been  a  success  in  Boston.  But  the  only  event- 
ful episode  of  its  production  was  the  breakdown  of  poor 
George  Holland.  He  was  cast  for  Mr.  Jenkins,  a  news- 
paper reporter,  and  he  appeared  on  the  opening  night, 
January  12,  1870,  for  the  last  time  in  any  performance. 
His  final  appearance  in  public  was  to  say  farewell  at  the 
benefit  given  him  at  the  theatre  by  Mr.  Daly. 

As  the  season  wore  on  the  manager  began  to  look  for 
an  attraction  which  would  last  longer  than  three  weeks 
and  give  his  company  a  rest  from  incessant  rehearsals. 
Twenty-one  plays  had  been  produced  in  six  months,  and 
even  the  mechanics  were  worn  out.  When  "The  Duke's 
Motto"  with  its  elaborate  setting  was  brought  out,  old 
Saunders  threw  himself  exhausted  upon  a  pile  of  scenery, 
and  had  to  be  comforted  by  his  tireless  manager.  The 
continuous  change  of  plays  kept  the  company  at  rehearsal 
all  day  and  often  after  midnight.  This  was  nothing, 
however,  to  the  young  and  the  young  in  spirit.  Health, 
hope,  buoyancy  of  heart  carried  them  over  all  the  dis- 
appointments. There  was  always  some  incident  to  laugh 
over,  some  trifling  mishap,  some  misadventure  turned  to 
merriment;  then  the  stage  was  cleared  for  another  effort, 
and  the  feet  of  youth,  which  always  tread  upon  air,  tripped 
Hghtly  after  their  untiring  leader,  who,  as  everyone  knew, 
labored  longer  and  harder  than  any  one  else,  and  got  no 
salary,  not  even  his  expenses.  He  came  to  the  theatre 
in  the  morning  before  the  night  watchman  left,  and  he 
was  the  last  at  night  upon  whom  the  key  was  turned.  He 
spent  nothing  upon  himself.  All  that  came  in  went 
upon  the  stage.  The  scenery  was  exquisite,  the  dresses 
costly,  the  furniture  real.  Everything  done  on  the  stage 
was  done  admirably,  and  satisfied  the  discerning  portion 
of  the  community  that  came  to  see ;  but  the  great  crowds 
that  make  success  had  not  found  their  way  there.  So  far 
all  had  been  struggle  —  now  came  reward. 


CHAPTER   IX 

"Frou-Frou"  turns  the  tide.  Makes  Agnes  Ethel.  Supper  on  the 
hundredth  night.  "Fernande,"  and  Fanny  Morant's  great  part. 
The  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  now  established.  Its  social  character. 
Tribute  to  Daly  by  Dorman  B.  Eaton.  Rigid  rule  excluding  visi- 
tors from  the  stage.  "Man  and  Wife"  dramatized  by  Daly  intro- 
duces Clara  Morris.  She  makes  her  mark,  and  so  do  Lewis  and 
Mrs.  Gilbert.  Agnes  Ethel  as  Viola  and  Knowles'  Julia.  Third 
success,  Bronson  Howard's  "Saratoga."  Miss  Morris  in  farce. 
Supper  on  the  hundredth  night.  Boucicault's  "Jezebel"  and 
Daly's  addition  to  it.  Engagement  of  Charles  Mathews.  Break- 
fast to  Mathews.  "No  Name."  Fanny  Davenport  sacrifices 
beauty  to  wit.  Outside  work.  "Horizon"  written  for  the  Olym- 
pic and  Mr.  DufF.  Daly  brings  out  Madame  Janauschek  in  Eng- 
lish. His  project  to  dramatize  "The  Mystery  of  Edwin  Drood." 
Charles  Collins' opinion.  "Divorce"  by  Daly  a  record  success. 
"Article  47."  Clara  Morris  reaches  the  high  water  mark  of  her 
fame.     Retirement  of   Agnes   Ethel.     Excursion   to   Philadelphia. 

At  this  time  appeared  in  Paris  Meilhac  and  Halevy's 
emotional  play  "Frou-Frou."  Their  names  had  been  asso- 
ciated with  opera  bouffe,  and  a  serious  play  was  the  last 
thing  expected  from  them.  "Frou-Frou"  quite  sup- 
planted Dumas'  "Dame  aux  Camelias,"  but  was  unlike 
that  morbid  tale;  it  dealt  with  a  life  warmed  by  the  sun, 
in  which  goodly  vines  flourish  that  the  little  foxes  gnaw  — 
in  which  the  small  passions  make  havoc  like  a  tempest. 
A  child-wife,  impetuous,  spoiled,  installing  her  staid  sister 
by  the  family  hearth  as  mother  to  her  child  and  companion 
to  her  husband,  so  that  she  herself  may  flit  about  In  free- 
dom ;  then  waking  to  the  bitter  reality  that  she  Is  sup- 
planted ;     loading    the   Innocent    with    reproaches;     and. 


Agnes  Kthkl 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  99 

maddened  by  the  consequences  of  her  own  folly,  casting 
herself  away  —  to  repent,  to  return,  to  die,  —  such  was  the 
story  of  "Frou-Frou." 

The  adaptation  was  completed  in  three  days,  and  the 
play  given  to  the  public  on  the  evening  of  February  12, 
1870,  In  Paris,  at  the  Gymnase,  Mme.  Desclee,  an  expe- 
rienced actress  of  great  emotional  power,  created  the  part 
of  the  heroine ;  Daly  gave  it  to  the  novice.  Miss  Ethel. 
His  judgment  was  abundantly  justified.  The  naivete  of 
the  beginner  gave  reality  to  the  thoughtlessness  of  the 
character.  Dramatic  force  was  wanting,  but  there  was 
the  effect  of  a  searching  cry  from  a  weak  and  despairing 
heart.  The  forgiveness  of  the  husband  had  the  full 
sympathy  of  the  beholders,  who  found  themselves  like 
him  contemplating  a  creature  blown  about  by  the  wind, 
whose  feet  were  never  made  to  wear  out  the  everlasting 
flint.^  The  play  was  an  unquestioned  success.  It 
became  the  town  talk,  and  everybody  crowded  to  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Theatre.  Daly  had  justified  prediction. 
James  Fisk,  Jr.  looked  as  if  he  felt  that  his  sagacity  in 
leasing  the  theatre  to  the  untried  manager  had  been 
vindicated,  and  even  old  Mr.  Duff  wore  a  sort  of  "I  told 
you  so"  expression 

To  celebrate  the  hundredth  performance  Daly  gave  a 
supper  at  the  St.  James  Hotel,  at  which  the  whole  com- 
pany of  the  theatre  was  present,  together  with  Judge  John 
R.  Brady  (presiding),  Richard  O'Gormon,  Judge  Fithian, 
Lawrence  Jerome,  and  Mayor  Hall.  After  the  run  of 
"Frou-Frou"  there  was  a  brief   revival  of   Goldsmith's 

1  The  cast  was  excellent.  Young  Clarke  was  Sartorys,  the  husband ;  Kate 
Newton  (her  debut)  Louise,  the  sister;  Davidge,  the  frivolous  parent  Brigard; 
Lewis  and  Mrs.  Gilbert  Baron  and  Baroness  de  Cambri;  the  child  of  Frou-Frou 
was  little  Gertrude,  daughter  of  Roberta  Norwood ;  Miss  Davenport  consented 
to  play  the  maid,  Pauline,  —  a  great  sacrifice  for  Lady  Gay  and  the  Baroness 
D^  AubrevaL 


loo  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"Good-natured  Man";  ^  and  then  Sardou's  "Fernande," 
another  Parisian  novelty,  was  brought  out  ^  with  the  same 
artists,  and  with  the  addition  of  Miss  Fanny  Morant,  whose 
powerful  impersonation  of  Clothilde,  the  woman  scorned  who 
became  a  fury,  was  magnetic  in  the  highest  degree.  The 
new  play  terminated  the  season, — one  of  forty-eight  weeks, 
and  unsurpassed  in  a  theatre  devoted  to  legitimate  enter- 
tainment. 

The  ambition  of  the  manager  had  been  fulfilled.  He 
had  established  a  theatre  where  plays  new  and  old  could 
be  fittingly  presented,  and  to  which  young  and  old  could 
resort  with  confidence.  The  home-like  atmosphere  re- 
mained with  Daly's  Theatre  throughout  his  career.  A 
rigid  rule  of  the  manager  was  that  no  person  was  to  be 
admitted  behind  the  scenes  who  was  not  engaged  in  the 
business  of  the  stage.  When  his  lease  came  to  be  renewed 
the  following  year,  his  landlord  proposed  a  clause  giving 
the  lessor  "free  access  to  all  parts  of  the  theatre  at  all 
times."     Daly  refused,  and  the  clause  was  omitted. 

The  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  and  Daly's  reputation  as 
manager  were  now  established.  The  popularity  of  his 
company  in  the  eyes  of  other  managers  was  attested  by  the 
successful  efforts  of  Wallack  to  withdraw  George  Clarke 
from  it.  But  this  defection  was  only  for  one  season.  He 
soon  returned. 

rlays  were  offered  by  well-known  writers  :  one  was  a 
drama  by  Bret  Harte ;  and  Laura  Keene  was  anxious  to 
come  and  play  a  new  local  piece  in  a  theatre  managed  by 
"an  American  author  brim  full  of  genius."  But  Daly's 
energies  were  now  bent  upon  a  congenial  task  —  the 
dramatization  of  the  great  novel  of  the  period,  Wilkie 
Collins'  "Man  and  Wife"  ;  Collins  himself  had  attempted 
the  task  for  the  London  stage,  but  had  failed  completely. 

1  April  24,  1870.  ^  June  7,  1870. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  loi 

The  work  presented  enormous  difficulties.  In  tlie  last 
act,  incidents  which  take  up  six  weeks  of  time  and  many 
changes  of  locality  had  to  be  crowded  into  a  single  scene 
and  half  an  hour.  It  was  the  opening  piece  of  the  next 
season,^  and  gave  Miss  Clara  Morris  her  first  opportunity. 

Miss  Morris  and  her  mother  had  come  from  the  West 
with  letters  to  New  York  managers.  Mr.  Daly  was  the 
only  one  to  give  the  friendless  stranger  a  chance.  Im- 
pressed at  first  by  her  vivacity,  he  mentally  enrolled  her 
in  his  comic  forces ;  but  when,  to  his  astonishment,  Miss 
Ethel  refused  the  part  of  Anne  Sylvester  in  "Man  and 
Wife,"  he  recalled  the  mobile  countenance  and  impressive 
voice  of  Miss  Morris,  and  intrusted  that  leading  role  to 
her.  The  result  was  that  the  first  night  of  the  new  play 
presented  to  a  deeply  interested  audience  another  of  Mr. 
Daly's  discoveries.  But  Miss  Morris  was  but  one  of 
several  surprises  of  that  eventful  premiere.  Lewis,  the 
farceur,  was  the  dignified,  keen,  and  benevolent  Sir  Patrick 
Lundie,  and  immediately  became  a  favorite.  This  was 
one  of  Daly's  most  daring  defiances  to  theatrical  rules  — 
to  give  the  low  comedian  a  role  naturally  falling  to  the 
"first  old  man"  or  the  "pere  noble."  The  third  surprise 
was  the  appearance  of  the  aristocratic  dowager,  Mrs. 
Gilbert,  in  the  weird  part  of  the  pretended  dumb  woman, 
Hester  Dethridge.  It  was  a  night  of  triumph  for  the 
management. 

After  ten  weeks'  run  a  season  of  old  comedy  and  Shake- 
speare followed.  No  one  now  doubted  the  capacity  of 
the  new  theatre  for  a  brilliant  and  unconventional  inter- 
pretation of  the  classics.  In  "Twelfth  Night"  Miss 
Ethel  was  Viola,''  and  in  "The  Hunchback"  Julia}  "The 
Heir  at  Law"  introduced  Mrs.  William  Winter  to  the 
stage.^     Davidge  was  Sir  Harcourt  Courtly  in  a  revival  of 

1  Sept.  13,  1870.   2  Nov.  21,  1870.   3  Dec.  12,  1870.   ''Dec.  22,  1870. 


I02  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"London  Assurance,"  and  Malvolio  in  "Twelfth  Night." 
A  one-time  favorite,  lone  Burke,  was  added  to  the  com- 
pany and  played  Grace  Harkaway  in  the  style  of  an 
ingenue  and  with  the  experience  of  some  years  in  England. 
Then  Mr.  Daly  had  the  pleasure  of  giving  a  young  Ameri- 
can author  his  opportunity. 

Bronson  Howard  had  written  to  Mr.  Daly  a  year  before, 
asking  him  to  read  a  new  comedy  which  had  had  a  test 
performance  in  Louisville  under  J.  W.  Albaugh,  who  had 
praised  it  highly.  Daly  read  it  and  made  several  sugges- 
tions to  Howard,  who  was  quick  to  appreciate  their 
value  and  able  to  make  the  best  use  of  them.  With 
"Saratoga"  he  at  length  gave  to  the  stage  one  of  the 
liveliest  and  freshest  comedies  of  the  period.  Miss 
Morris  shone  in  a  comedy  part  as  conspicuously  as  in 
that  deadly  earnest  one  of  Anne  Sylvester.  The  manager's 
first  as  well  as  his  second  estimate  of  her  abilities  was 
correct.  And  now  Lewis  was  back  again  in  farce,  rattling, 
in  Boh  Sackett,  through  a  wilderness  of  scrapes ;  Bob 
Sackett  is  the  hero  of  "Saratoga."  Delighted  with 
Howard's  success,  Daly  gave  him  a  supper  on  the  hun- 
dredth night,  at  which  Mayor  Hall  presided,  assisted  by 
Robert  B.  Roosevelt  (then  member  of  Congress  from 
New  York),  John  Brougham,  Colonel  Knox,  Joseph 
Howard,  Jr.,  many  representatives  of  the  press,  and  the 
whole  company  of  Daly's  Theatre. 

After  the  long  run  of  Howard's  play,  Boucicault's 
"Jezebel"  (from  the  French  of  Lessiere's  "La  Fille  du 
Sud  ")  was  produced,  and  to  lighten  its  gloom  Daly  wrote 
a  comic  scene  for  it,  which  the  press  (not  in  the  author's 
confidence)  pronounced  to  be  "in  Boucicault's  best  vein"  ! 
The  next  novelty  was  a  season  of  Charles  Mathews 
after  an  absence  of  years.  Mathews  was  one  of  the 
bright    recollections    of    Daly's    boyhood.     His    seventy 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  103 

years  were  only  disclosed  by  his  wrinkles,  his  step  and 
spirit  were  young,  and  he  walked  jauntily  to  rehearsals  in 
the  morning,  smoking  the  longest,  strongest,  brownest, 
and  most  highly  flavored  of  Regalias.  He  had  been  thirty- 
five  years  on  the  stage,  which  he  adopted  only  in  middle 
life,  having  been  intended  by  his  father,  the  famous  come- 
dian, for  the  profession  of  architect.  In  the  preceding 
season  in  England  he  had  toured  nine  months,  playing 
in  forty-one  one-night  stands  and  in  thirty-one  places  for 
two  nights  each.  He  now  turned  up  as  gay  as  ever  for 
his  third  visit  to  America,  accompanied  by  his  wife, 
Lizzie  Weston  of  New  York,  whose  first  husband  was 
Adolphus  Davenport, 

Mathews'  opening  bill  ^  was  (as  always)  "Married 
for  Money"  and  "Patter  vs.  Clatter,"  and  he  wrote  from 
San  Francisco  in  advance,  referring  to  terms  (half  the 
receipts  after  ^500),  describing  the  dramatis  personse  of 
the  first  piece  (which  Daly  knew  by  heart)  and  how  to  cast 
it  (which  Daly  also  knew  as  well  as  he  did),  and  begging 
that  he  be  announced  "as  'Mr.  C.  M.,  the  celebrated 
(or  distinguished)  English  comedian,'  —  nothing  more. 
And  I  have  a  horror  of  'gags'  (which,  by  the  bye,  I 
believe  you  have  the  good  taste  to  avoid  also)."  The 
new  manager's  principles  in  the  latter  regard  had  already 
become  the  talk  of  the  theatrical  world.  "Gags"  are 
those  interpolations  with  which  privileged  comic  actors 
enliven  the  author's  composition. 

Mrs.  Gilbert  was  Mrs.  Mopus  to  Mathews'  Mopus,  and 
Miss  Kate  Claxton,  now  a  member  of  the  company,  was 
one  of  the  mute  performers  in  the  second  piece,  in  which 
the  star  did  all  the  talking.  He  played  eight  weeks  in 
eleven  pieces,  including  "A  Bachelor  of  Arts"  and  "Used 
Up "   (favorites  of  Lester  Wallack) ;    and  the  gossamer 

'  April  10,  1871. 


I04  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

daintiness  of  the  first  made  even  the  lightest  light  comedy 
of  the  other  seem  ponderous ;  yet  both  were  perfect. 
Mrs.  Mathews  appeared,  for  the  first  time  in  New  York 
since  she  had  become  Mrs.  Mathews,  as  Medea  in  Planche's 
extravaganza  of  that  name  —  no  longer  the  slender 
Naiad  Queen.  Mathews  was  Chorus  crowned  with  bays,. 
in  a  short  white  toga  over  evening  dress.  He  was  a 
martinet  at  rehearsals,  going  through  his  own  lines  in  a 
whisper,  but  advising  "a  judicious  application  of  the 
toasting  fork  to  all  the  dram,  pers." 

Mayor  Hall  gave  a  breakfast  to  Mathews  at  the  Man- 
hattan Club  at  which  Sunset  Cox,  Evert  Duyckinck, 
James  W.  Gerard  (one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Bar),  Chief 
Justice  Charles  P.  Daly,  managers  Wallack  and  Augustin 
Daly,  Lester  Wallack,  John  Gilbert,  and  Brougham  were 
present.  The  Chief  Justice  asked  Wallack  if  he  had  ever 
met  the  celebrated  Irish  comedian,  Jack  Johnstone. 
"Yes,"  said  Wallack,  "I  married  his  daughter;  and 
there  [pointing  to  Lester]  is  her  son."  Brougham  sat 
next  to  me,  and  the  conversation  in  a  little  while  turned 
upon  spiritual  manifestations.  Brougham  asked  me  if 
I  believed  that  at  any  time  in  the  history  of  mankind  the 
spirits  of  the  departed  had  ever  appeared  to  the  living. 
"I  have  lain  awake,"  he  said,  "in  my  bed  at  night  many 
a  time  and  have  stretched  out  my  hand  in  the  darkness, 
saying,  'If  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  disembodied  spirit, 
let  it  make  me  sensible  of  its  presence  by  touching  my 
hand  ! '     And  there  was  no  response." 

No  one  could  ever  have  been  a  greater  stage  favorite 
than  Brougham.  From  the  time  of  his  first  appearance 
in  New  York  in  1842  until  his  death  in  1880  he  was  con- 
tinually before  the  public.  Some  years  after  the  Mathews' 
breakfast,  and  when  the  veteran  Brougham  was  afflicted 
with   years   and   ailments    (1878),    a   public   benefit   was 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  105 

arranged  for  him  which  netted  about  $10,000.  It  was 
invested  in  an  annuity  which  he  enjoyed  only  two  years, 
when  he  was  taken  away  "in  the  next  shipment  of  souls." 
He  wrote  more  than  fifty  plays  —  among  them  dramatiza- 
tions of  the  early  works  of  Dickens  —  and  innumerable 
songs  and  ballads  introduced  into  the  works  of  others. 
Taken  all  in  all  he  was  the  most  agreeable  actor  of  his 
time,  and  one  of  the  most  intelligent.  His  Sir  Lucius 
0^  Trigger  was  a  revelation.  At  the  close  of  Mathews' 
engagement  he  played  Sheridan's  "Critic"  in  two  acts, 
so  as  to  show  his  Sir  Fretful  Plagiary  as  well  as  his  Puff, 
making  the  change  of  costume  —  from  the  rubicund, 
powdered,  gartered,  choleric  knight  to  the  cool,  well- 
groomed  dramatist  —  in  an  incredibly  short  time,  I 
should  think  not  over  half  a  minute. 

After  Mathews,  Wilkie  Collins'  and  Daly's  adaptation 
of  "No  Name"  was  brought  out  ^  with  all  the  company 
in  the  cast,  and  with  Miss  Davenport  masking  her  glowing 
beauty  in  the  role  of  the  frowsy,  chalk-faced,  slipshod 
and  half-cracked  Mrj.  Captain  Wragge.  "Delmonico's,'* 
an  adaptation  from  Sardou,  came  next,^  and  finally,  as 
late  as  July  10  (another  prolonged  season,  but  there 
was  no  Manhattan  Beach  in  those  days,  the  public  taking 
their  ease  in  summer  gardens,  listening  to  Theodore 
Thomas'  orchestra)  "An  Old  Olympic  Bill"  was  given, 
such  a  night's  frolic  as  William  Mitchell  used  to  offer  his 
patrons  twenty  years  before,  at  the  toy  theatre  on  Broad- 
way below  Grand  Street.  One  of  his  greatest  hits  was  the 
Crummies  episode  from  "Nicholas  Nickleby."  Daly  now 
reproduced  it  from  the  original  Mss.  Davidge  was 
Crummies,  Mrs.  Gilbert  The  Infant  Phenomenon,  and 
James  Lewis  The  Savage.  Mrs.  Gilbert's  ballet  was  inim- 
itable.    On  July  15,   1871,  after  a  season  of  three  hun- 

*  June  7,  1871.  2  June  20,  1871. 


io6  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

dred  and  fifteen  performances,  the  company  was  allowed 
to  rest. 

If  we  fancy  that  the  work  of  this  season  afforded  all  the 
employment  needed  for  the  energies  of  the  manager  and 
dramatist,  we  shall  be  surprised  to  learn  that  he  wrote, 
rehearsed,  and  produced  ^  for  his  father-in-law,  Mr.  Duff, 
at  the  Olympic  Theatre  an  original  American  drama, 
"Horizon,"  lending  Agnes  Ethel  for  the  heroine  Meddie, 
who,  as  fair  and  frail  as  a  lily,  handled  a  rifle  and  kept  a 
score  of  savages  at  bay.  This  was  in  the  third  act,  the 
climax  of  which  was  the  startling  ruse  by  which  the 
Indians  captured  the  stockade  in  which  the  families  of  the 
settlers  were  gathered.  The  drama  was  a  picture  of  life 
on  the  border  and  the  plains.  A.  M.  Palmer  said  to  me 
years  afterwards:  "'Horizon'  was  the  best  American 
play  I  have  ever  seen  ;  more  than  that,  it  was  the  best 
play  your  brother  ever  wrote  ;  and  it  was  the  least  appre- 
ciated by  the  public."  G.  L.  Fox,  J.  K.  Mortimer,  Charles 
Wheatleigh,  Hart  Conway,  Mrs.  Prior  and  her  daughter 
Lulu,  Mrs.  Yeamans  and  her  daughter  Jennie,  with  many 
others,  were  in  the  cast. 

Daly  wrote  this  play  to  help  the  fading  fortunes  of  the 
once  popular  Olympic  Theatre,  which  Fox  in  "Humpty 
Dumpty"  had  crowded  for  two  years,  but  which  the  re- 
ceding stream  of  population  was  now  leaving  high  and 
dry.  Duff  had  invested  a  huge  sum  in  the  purchase  of  the 
decree  of  foreclosure  which  cut  off  the  builder  Trimble  ;  but 
through  some  oversight  final  judgment  was  not  entered, 
and  when  the  property  became  exceedingly  valuable  in 
Duff's  hands,  the  creditors  of  Trimble  (revived  by  an  astute 
attorney)  were  allowed  to  redeem,  and  Duff  had  to  account 
for  the  profits.  Only  once  after  this  did  Daly  produce 
a  play  on  the  Olympic  stage.     This  was  in  1879,  and  the 

1  March  25,  1871. 


THE  LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  107 

play  "L'AssommoIr,"  when  Miss  Rehan,  a  beginner,  came 
to  his  management. 

Daly's  fame  now  brought  him  ^  from  Mr.  Thomas 
Carnegie  an  offer  (which  he  had  to  decline)  to  manage  a 
new  opera  house,  or  theatre,  at  Pittsburgh.  A  congenial 
task  for  him  this  year  was  to  take  charge  of  Madame 
Janauschek's  debut  in  English.  This  was  at  the  Academy 
of  Music,  in  Mosenthal's  "Deborah"  and  in  "Macbeth." 
The  company  he  selected  for  her  comprised  Frederic 
Robinson,  Mark  Smith,  A.  H.  Davenport,  Mrs.  DeVere, 
Mme.  Lesderniers,  and  Miss  Ames. 

Still  another  project  was  to  compose  and  produce  a 
dramatization  of  the  lamented  Dickens'  unfinished  "Mys- 
tery of  Edwin  Drood."  Assuming  that  the  author  must 
have  left  some  clue  to  the  "mystery,"  our  playwright 
wrote  to  young  Charles  Dickens,  who  stated  in  reply  that 
it  was  as  great  a  mystery  to  him  as  to  the  public  at  large. 
Daly  wrote  to  Mr.  Luke  Fildes,  the  illustrator  of  the  novel, 
and  Mr.  Fildes  referred  him  to  Mr.  Charles  Collins,  the 
artist  (son-in-law  of  the  author),  who  had  designed  the 
cover.     Mr.  Collins  obligingly  replied  : 

"Brompton,  May  4,  1871. 
Dear  Sir :  — 

The  late  Mr.  Dickens  communicated  to  me  some  general  out- 
lines for  his  scheme  of  'Edwin  Drood,'  but  it  was  at  a  very 
early  stage  in  the  development  of  the  idea,  and  what  he  said 
bore  mainly  upon  the  earlier  portions  of  the  tale. 

Edwin  Drood  was  never  to  reappear^  he  having  been  murdered 
by  Jasper.  The  girl  Rosa  not  having  been  really  attached  to 
Edwin,  was  not  to  lament  his  loss  very  long,  and  was,  I  believe, 
to  admit  the  sailor  Mr.  Tartar  to  supply  his  place.  It  was  in- 
tended that  Jasper  himself  should  urge  on  the  search  after  Edwin 
Drood  and  the  pursuit  of  his  murderer,  thus  endeavoring  to  direct 

1  March,  1871. 


io8  THE  LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

suspicion  from  himself,  the  real  murderer.  This  is  indicated 
in  the  design,  on  the  right  side  of  the  cover,  of  the  figures  hurry- 
ing up  the  spiral  staircase  emblematical  of  a  pursuit.  They  are 
led  on  by  Jasper  who  points  unconsciously  to  his  own  figure  in 
the  drawing  at  the  head  of  the  title.  The  female  figure  at  the 
left  of  the  cover  reading  the  placard  'Lost'  is  only  intended  to 
illustrate  the  doubt  entertained  by  Rosa  Budd  as  to  the  fate 
of  her  lover  Drood.  The  group  beneath  it  indicates  the  accept- 
ance of  another  suitor. 

As  to  any  theory  further  it  must  be  purely  conjectural.  It 
seems  likely  that  Rosa  would  marry  Mr.  Tartar  and  possible 
that  the  same  destiny  might  await  Mr.  Crisparkle  and  Helena 
Landless.  Young  Landless  himself  was  to  die  perhaps,  and 
Jasper  certainly  would,  though  whether  by  falling  into  the  hands 
of  justice  or  by  suicide  or  through  taking  an  overdose  of  opium, 
which  seems  most  likely,  it  is  impossible  to  say. 

I  regret  not  being  able  to  offer  you  more  information  and  also 
that  your  letter  should  have  remained  so  long  unanswered. 

Very  faithfully  yours, 

Charles  Allston  Collins." 

Disappointed  in  his  search  for  authentic  matter  to 
supply  a  conclusion  for  the  unfinished  work,  Daly  con- 
sidered the  possibility  of  inventing  one  himself.  His 
theory  was  that  the  conscience  of  Jasper  might  induce 
him  to  betray  himself  in  sleep.  At  that  period  the 
French  drama,  "Le  Juif  Polonais  "  (which  Henry  Irving 
afterwards  brought  out  under  the  name  of  "The  Bells"), 
had  just  been  produced,  and  the  dream  scene  of  the  second 
act  suggested  a  nightmare  to  result  in  a  confession  by  the 
culprit.  The  work,  being  laid  aside  for  the  moment,  was 
not  taken  up  after  the  production  of  "The  Bells."  The 
manager  had  become  engaged  upon  one  of  his  most  cele- 
brated original  plays,  with  which  he  decided  to  open  his 
third  season.^     This  was  "Divorce,"  the  first  American 

»  1871-1872. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  109 

drama  on  the  subject.  When  the  dissolution  of  the 
marriage  bond  was  legalized  in  France,  the  dramatic 
authors  there  appreciated  the  value  of  the  new  condi- 
tions for  theatrical  purposes,  chiefly  in  the  humorous 
way.  But  it  was  a  serious  subject  to  America,  and  the 
scheme  of  this  play  was  to  show  that  marital  disagree- 
ments usually  begin  with  self-love  and  pride,  and  that  they 
grow  out  of  unions  where  each  party  marries  for  his  or 
her  own  happiness  and  forgets  the  other's  ;  and  to  impress 
the  idea  that  forbearance  is  the  religion  of  matrimony  as 
well  as  of  society. 

Anthony  Trollope's  "He  Knew  He  Was  Right" 
suggested  the  common  case  of  a  man  unreasonably  jealous 
and  a  woman  unreasonably  resentful ;  but  apart  from 
these  traits,  Daly  could  claim  the  play,  with  its  well- 
contrasted  characters  (of  whom  there  were  twenty- 
one),  its  novel  incidents,  intense  dialogue,  and  admirable 
denouement,  as  all  his  own.  Two  ill-assorted  couples 
were  shown.  Miss  Morris  and  Harkins  represented  a 
high-strung  woman  united  to  a  man  who  denied  her  the 
least  freedom  of  will ;  and  Miss  Davenport  and  Davidge, 
a  mating  of  May  and  December.  Dominating  the  sea 
of  trouble  was  the  "divorce  lawyer"  Jitt  (Lewis),  and 
his  coadjutor  was  necessarily  the  despicable  divorce 
detective  (W.  J.  Lemoyne).  The  worldly  mother  and 
matchmaker  was  Miss  Fanny  Morant.  Necessary  to  the 
story  was  the  alienist  (DeVere),  of  whom  a  well-known 
physician  said,  "I'm  delighted  to  see  on  the  stage  at  last 
a  character  that  does  not  belie  the  profession!"  Minor 
parts  fell  to  Mrs.  Gilbert,  Mary  Gary,  Ida  Yereance, 
Linda  Dietz,  Louise  VoUmer,  Kate  Glaxton,  Nellie  Morti- 
mer, David  Whiting,  Henry  Grisp,  and  Owen  Fawcett. 

The  first  representation  ^  showed  that  the  play  exactly 
1  Sept.  9,  1871. 


no  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

suited  the  temper  of  the  pubHc.  It  did  not  preach,  it 
acted,  its  moral.  The  causes  of  trouble  lay  on  the  surface 
of  everyday  life.  The  whole  play  was  an  appeal  to  reason, 
to  fairness,  to  justice.  The  appeal  went  straight  home. 
The  veteran  actor  John  Gilbert  was  there  on  the  first 
night.  He  went  back  to  Wallack's  and  said  :  "They  have 
a  strong  play  up  there  !"  It  is  not  surprising  that  it  was 
played  two  hundred  times  (a  record),  and,  before  the  season 
ended,  all  over  the  United  States. 

The  devotion  of  the  manager  to  the  older  comedy 
prompted  the  revival  of  "The  Provoked  Husband."  ^ 
Miss  Davenport  was  Lady  Totvnly,  Mrs.  Gilbert  Lady 
Wronghead,  Miss  Gary  Lady  Grace,  and  Miss  Claxton 
Trusty;  Louis  James  was  Manly  and  Lemoyne  Moody. 
A  week  was  given  to  Miss  Ethel  in  Frou-Frou  and 
Viola;  then  came  the  greatest  sensation  of  the  manage- 
ment,  "Article  47." 

In  this  play  Miss  Morris  reached  the  height  of  her 
achievement.  The  scene  in  which,  baffled  of  her  ven- 
geance, which  had  become  a  monomania,  her  overwrought 
emotion  unseats  her  reason  and  she  passes  through  the 
stages  of  fear,  cunning,  and  loss  of  control  to  raving  mad- 
ness was  electrifying;  and  when  the  curtain  fell,  she  was 
the  mistress  of  the  American  stage.  This  triumph  had 
not  been  effected  without  extreme  preparation.  Long 
rehearsals  with  her  ambitious  and  painstaking  manager 
had  shaped  every  movement  and  guided  every  inflection. 
Their  joy  was  mutual.  The  brilliancy  of  the  cast,  the 
setting,  the  surroundings,  made  this  victory  look  as  if  it 
had  been  foreseen  and  staged.  Miss  Davenport,  Mrs. 
Gilbert,  Misses  DIetz,  Norwood,  Vollmer,  and  Yereance, 
Messrs.  Crisp,  Davldge,  James,  Lewis,  Griffiths,  Le- 
moyne,  Parkes,  Harkins,  DeVere,  and   Burnett  were  In 

1  March  22,  1872. 


Clara  Morris 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  in 

the  triumph.  The  season  closed^  when  "Article  47" 
was  well  on  to  its  hundredth  night. 

The  successes  achieved  by  plays  in  which  she  had  no 
part  caused  Miss  Ethel  to  leave  Daly's  management  and 
engage  with  Shook  and  Palmer  of  the  Union  Square,  who 
had  watched  the  course  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre 
with  appreciative  eyes.  Daly  would  gladly  have  retained 
Miss  Ethel  with  the  expectation  of  fitting  her  delicate  and 
limited  gifts  with  suitable  parts.  He  had  sent  her  with  a 
special  company  through  the  country  to  star  in  "Frou- 
Frou"  and  "Divorce,"  and  he  offered  her  a  three  years' 
engagement.  She  was  weighing  this  when  Shook  and 
Palmer  made  her  an  offer  to  get  a  play  for  her  from 
Sardou  and  revive  the  interest  of  the  "Frou-Frou" 
days.  The  scheme  was  greatly  helped  by  Harkins  being 
now  willing  to  leave  Daly  (Clarke  was  coming  back)  and 
serve  the  Union  Square  as  stage  manager  with  all  the 
experience  acquired  at  the  Fifth  Avenue.  It  may  briefly 
be  said  that  Miss  Ethel's  acceptance  was  wise,  and  Shook 
and  Palmer's  venture  successful.  Sardou  made  over  one 
of  his  plays  ("Andrea"),  and  called  it  "Agnes,"  in  which 
Miss  Ethel  made  a  decided  hit;  after  one  season  she 
retired  to  marry. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  run  of  "Article  47"  Miss 
Davenport  was  also  fitted  out  with  a  company  to  star  in 
"Divorce,"  taking  Miss  Morris'  part,  Fanny  Ten  Eyck. 
Lawrence  Barrett  wrote  from  his  theatre  in  New  Orleans  : 
"She  is  certainly  as  sound  in  sentiment  as  she  is  airy  and 
charming  in  comedy.  She  has  the  best  of  her  parent 
stock  in  her  composition."  There  was  another  starring 
tour,  brief  and  eccentric,  the  first  of  its  kind  :  during  the 
run  of  "Divorce"  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  the  whole  company 
was  carried   to  Philadelphia   to  give  a   matinee   (at  the 

1  June  15,  1872. 


112  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Walnut  Street  Theatre,  I  think)  and  were  back  in  New 
York  in  time  for  the  evening  performance.  The  excursion 
was  greatly  enjoyed  by  everybody  except  James  Lewis, 
who  sat  gloomily  in  a  corner  when  he  heard  that  the  regular 
trains  on  the  P.  R.  R.  were  to  be  held  on  sidings  to  let  the 
special  containing  his  mortal  parts  go  by.  Like  nearly 
every  other  comic  actor  Lewis  took  a  serious  view  of  life 
and  the  probability  of  its  accidents.  He  was  not  seen  to 
smile  that  day  until  back  safe  in  Twenty-fourth  Street. 
The  untiring  manager  had  this  season  found  time  to 
assist  in  benefits  for  Mrs.  Matilda  Heron,  now  sadly  in 
need,  and  for  the  young  widow  of  James  H.  Hackett,  who 
was  left  with  an  infant  son. 


CHAPTER  X 

Last  of  this  theatre.  Fourth  season  opens  with  Bronson  Howard's 
"Diamonds."  Old  Comedy  and  Shakespeare  take  possession. 
Charles  Fisher  as  Old  Dornion,  Falstaf,  and  Sir  Peter  Teazle. 
Clara  Morris  in  "The  Inconstant."  Lewis'  aversion  to  old  com- 
edy. Notable  casts  for  "The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor"  and 
"The  School  for  Scandal."  Revival  of  "The  Belle's  Stratagem 
and  "The  Provoked  Husband."  An  amateur  debut.  Frank 
Marshall's  charming  "New  Year's  Eve."  Sudden  end  of  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Theatre.  Fire  on  New  Year's  Day  1873.  Total 
loss.  Daly  resolves  to  go  on  immediately.  Interview  with  A.  T. 
Stewart.  The  old  New  York  Theatre  converted  into  a  Fifth 
Avenue  Theatre  in  three  weeks.  Great  throng  at  opening,  January 
21,  1873.  "Alixe"  and  Clara  Morris.  "Madeleine  Morel." 
Revivals  of  former  successes.  Close  of  season.  A  charity  benefit 
and  Adelaide  Neilson.  We  look  at  another  scene  of  Daly's  ac- 
tivities. 

The  theatre  was  made  splendid  for  the  next  season ;  a 
tableau  by  Gariboldi,  "The  Crowning  of  Comedy," 
decorated  the  ceiling  —  a  subject  reproduced  by  the 
same  artist  for  the  new  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  on  Twenty- 
eighth  Street,  and  embroidered  in  silk  for  Daly's  last 
theatre  on  Broadway.  The  opening  piece  was  a  play  by 
Bronson  Howard  ^  with  strong  (if  not  violent)  features, 
in  which  all  the  company  took  part ;  it  was,  in  fact,  written 
to  fit  them  all.  But  it  did  not  make  a  lasting  impression, 
and  its  withdrawal  enabled  Daly  to  indulge  his  passion 
for  the  classic  drama.  Charles  Fisher  had  just  joined 
his  forces  and  enabled  him  to  extend  his  range  of  old 
comedies,     Fisher's    style,    more    French    than    English, 

1  Sept.  3,  1872. 
113 


114  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

agreed  well  with  the  lightness  of  touch  observable  in 
all  the  Daly  revivals.  He  had  had  immense  experience 
in  many  companies,  from  Burton's  to  Lester  Wallack's. 
There  was  a  new  young  woman  too,  Sara  Jewett,  a  pupil 
of  Miss  Morant,  who  possessed  all  the  freshness  of  Agnes 
Ethel  without  her  fascination,  and  all  the  energy  of  Clara 
Morris  without  her  power. 

"The  Road  to  Ruin"  introduced  Fisher  ^  as  Old  Dornton, 
one  of  the  choice  impersonations  of  W.  R.  Blake.  Lewis 
was  cast  for  Goldfinch,  but  to  the  manager's  astonishment 
declined  it,  not  because  it  was  not  good  enough  but  be- 
cause it  was  "entirely  out  of  his  way."  Clarke  took  it 
and  gave  it  the  correct  rollicking  touch.  The  fact  was 
that  Lewis  detested  old  comedy,  yet  he  was  a  good  Touch- 
stone, Grumio,  and  even  Sir  Toby  Belch.  The  next  revival 
was  "The  Belle's  Stratagem,"^  with  Louis  James  as  Dori- 
court,  Clarke  as  Flutter,  Davidge  as  Old  Hardy,  Miss 
Davenport  as  Letitia,  and  Miss  Morant  as  Mrs.  Rockett. 
Then  came  "Everybody's  Friend,"  ^  the  feature  of  which 
was  the  tragic  Louis  James  in  Felix  Featherly,  a  part  that 
J.  B,  Polk  had  once  rejected  as  beneath  him.  The  greatest 
novelty,  however,  was  "The  Inconstant,"  for  the  first  time 
in  seventeen  years,^  with  Miss  Morris  as  Oriana  (her  first 
appearance  in  page's  dress,  and  a  very  spirited,  slender, 
and  symmetrical  figure).  Miss  Davenport  as  Bizarre, 
Clarke  as  Young  Mirabel,  and  Griffiths  as  Old  Mirabel. 
Shakespeare's  "Merry  Wives  of  Windsor"  presented 
Fisher  as  Falstaff,  Miss  Davenport  as  Mrs.  Ford,  Miss 
Morant  as  Mrs.  Page,  Miss  Jewett  as  Anne,  Mrs.  Gilbert 
as  Dame  Quickly,  Clarke  as  Page,  Louis  James  as  Ford, 
Lewis  as  Slender,  Lemoyne  as  Caius,  Davidge  as  Evans, 
Whiting  as  Shallow,  Ringgold  as  Fenton,  and  Fawcett  as 

1  Oct.  28,  1872.  3  Nov.  4,  1872. 

*Oct.  30,  1872.  ■*  Nov.  6,  1872. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  115 

Host  —  a  memorable  cast.  Fisher's  fat  knight  was  all 
nature.  There  never  seemed  to  be  anything  theatrical 
about  his  bulk  nor  anything  assumed  in  voice  or  gait. 
The  rolling  eye  and  smacking  lip  had  no  suggestion  of 
the  theatre,  and  seemed  to  have  no  taint  of  grossness. 

Equally  pleasing  to  lovers  of  old  comedy  was  Fisher's 
Sir  Peter  Teazle  in  the  next  revival,  "The  School  for 
Scandal."  ^  Miss  Davenport  was  Lady  Teazle,  and  it 
continued  to  be  her  part  for  ten  years.  Clarke  was 
Charles,  James  was  Joseph,  Lewis  Moses,  Davidge  Crab- 
tree,  and  Miss  Morant  Mrs.  Candour.  Such  a  revival  is 
the  supreme  test  of  a  dramatic  company.  If  you  doubt 
it,  try  to  recall  how  many  managers  venture  upon  it  in 
these  days.  In  rapid  succession  followed  "Married 
Life"  2  and  "A  Bold  Stroke  for  a  Husband."  ^  Mean- 
while, a  debutante  from  the  ranks  of  New  York  social 
life,  Mrs.  C.  D.  Abbott,  made  her  first  appearance  at  a 
matinee^  in  "The  Baroness,"  from  the  French.  A  new 
comedy,  Frank  Marshall's  "New  Year's  Eve,"  a  charming 
picture  of  English  life,  was  produced  on  December  23, 
and  as  interpreted  by  Miss  Morris,  Miss  Davenport, 
Mrs.  Gilbert,  Miss  Mortimer,  Whiting,  Burnett,  Clarke, 
Rockwell,  Davidge,  Ringgold,  and  Fawcett,  became  at 
once  a  favorite. 

New  Year's  day,  1873,  was  a  typical  winter's  afternoon, 
and  the  streets  were  covered  with  snow  and  ice.  At 
about  half  past  five  I  was  stepping  into  a  sleigh,  when  the 
driver  with  a  troubled  air  Informed  me  of  a  report  that 
"the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  was  on  fire."  Driving  imme- 
diately In  that  direction,  it  was  found  that  we  could  ap- 
proach no  nearer  than  the  corner  of  Fifth  Avenue  and 
Twenty-fourth  Street,  as  a  cordon  of  police  was  stretched 

*  Dec.  9,  1872.  'Dec.  17,  1872. 

*  Dec.  16,  1872.  *  Dec.  12,  1872. 


ii6  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

across  the  latter  thoroughfare.  From  that  spot  an 
immense  crowd  of  strangely  silent  spectators  watched  a 
roaring  flame  ascend  as  in  a  chimney  from  the  walls  of 
what  had  been,  an  hour  before,  the  most  cherished  play- 
house in  America.  After  a  brief  view  of  the  melancholy 
sight,  and  the  receipt  of  many  condolences  from  acquaint- 
ances in  the  crowd,  I  returned  to  our  home  and  learned 
the  particulars  of  the  disaster. 

About  half  an  hour  after  the  departure  of  the  audience 
which  had  crowded  the  afternoon  performance,  Appleton, 
in  the  box  office  in  front  of  the  theatre  and  scarcely  six 
feet  from  the  street,  was  astonished  by  a  gush  of  smoke 
and  flame  beneath  him,  and  had  only  time  to  close  his 
safe,  clutch  at  his  cash,  and  escape  through  the  doorway. 
The  artist  on  the  paint  frame  above  the  stage  beheld  the 
smoke  rising  through  the  openings  in  the  orchestra  and 
fought  his  way  blindly  out.  In  a  few  minutes  the  whole 
house  was  a  furnace.  The  doorkeeper,  whose  post  was 
at  the  front  basement  entrance,  had  not  appeared,  but 
alarm  for  his  safety  was  succeeded  by  astonishment  when 
he  was  seen  coming  toward  the  theatre  after  it  was  practi- 
cally consumed.  He  had  absented  himself  without  leave 
to  join  his  family  at  their  New  Year  dinner.  But  for 
his  desertion  it  is  probable  that  the  fire,  detected  at  the 
beginning,  might  have  been  extinguished.  Once  before 
the  theatre  had  been  threatened  by  a  fire  which  broke  out 
in  one  of  the  dressing  rooms  below  the  auditorium.  It 
was  caused  by  the  careless  handling  of  an  alcohol  torch 
used  by  one  of  the  cleaners  ;  but  Thomas,  Uncle  Wood- 
gate's  black  boy,  was  then  the  doorkeeper,  and,  intelligent 
as  well  as  fearless,  he  seized  the  light  hose  which  was  kept 
on  a  reel  by  the  frontdoor  and  ran  with  it  down  the  corri- 
dor upon  which  the  rooms  opened,  and  quickly  extin- 
guished   the    flames.     At    each  corridor  under  the  audi- 


The  Fifth  Avenite  Theatre 
The  dav  after  the  fire 


THE   LIFE  OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  117 

torium  there  were  similar  reels  of  light  hose,  besides  fire 
extinguishers  in  every  part  of  the  house.  All  that  was 
needed  was  a  watchman  faithful  to  his  post.  It  is 
characteristic  of  my  brother's  merciful  disposition  that, 
knowing  this  unfortunate  guardian  would  be  unable 
to  get  employment  after  such  omission  of  duty,  he  took 
him  back  for  the  sake  of  his  family. 

Our  house  that  night  was  filled  with  friends  calling  to 
condole  with  my  brother  upon  his  great  loss,  but  he  was 
found  in  anything  but  a  depressed  mood.  Although 
totally  uninsured  and  facing  an  incalculable  loss  in  ward- 
robes, furniture,  manuscripts,  libraries,  and  records,  his 
only  thought  was  how  to  continue  his  artistic  enterprise 
and  the  season  so  suddenly  extinguished.  To  do  this  it 
was  necessary  to  reproduce  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre 
somewhere,  move  his  company  there,  and  go  on  as  if 
nothing  had  happened.  But  it  must  be  done  instantly 
—  while  the  memory  of  the  public  was  fresh.  At  eight 
o'clock  that  night,  as  A.  T.  Stewart  was  rising  from 
dinner,  Mr.  Augustin  Daly  was  announced.  "  I  thought, " 
said  Mr.  Stewart,  advancing  with  outstretched  hand, 
"that  I  should  see  you  !"  Stewart,  as  we  know,  was  the 
proprietor  of  the  New  York  Theatre  where  "Griffith 
Gaunt"  and  "Under  the  Gaslight"  were  produced.  It 
was  then  the  only  vacant  theatre  in  New  York,  and 
Stewart,  who  knew  Daly  and  his  enterprising  spirit, 
had    probably    been    listening    for    the    doorbell    since 

six  P.M. 

A  lease  for  two  years  was  agreed  upon  at  once,  and 
next  day  Mr.  Daly  was  closeted  with  builders  and 
decorators,  who  were  to  convert  the  wretched  old  barn  into 
some  interior  resemblance  to  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre 
as  it  was  on  New  Year's  morning.  This  was  accomplished 
in  exactly  three  weeks  from  January  4,  when  the  con- 


ii8  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

tracts  were  signed,  though  at  the  heavy  cost  which  such 
rapid  work  entails. 

Meanwhile  the  extensive  company  was  held  together. 
Some  one  remarked  that  Daly  was  "  a  mother  to  it."  Lewis 
replied,  "I  don't  know  about  the  mother,  but  he  is 
certainly  our  father!"  Each  member  suffered  individual 
losses.  The  manager  grieved  most  for  his  prompt  books 
and  his  letters.  Some  of  the  latter  were  found,  and  have 
been  consulted  in  writing  these  pages ;  but  the  charred 
edges  crumble  in  my  hand.  Letters  of  sympathy  poured 
in.  Wallack  wrote  offering  his  theatre,  and  sent  a  message 
from  Sothern.  "The  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Theatre  Company"  had  a  meeting,  with  Davidge 
in  the  chair,  to  express  their  sympathy  and  the  hope  that 
their  manager  would  continue  "in  the  same  way  he  has 
so  successfully  employed  in  elevating  and  furthering  the 
best  interests  of  the  Drama  in  New  York."  Bronson 
Howard  wrote  from  Detroit:  "What  with  the  epizootic 
and  snowstorms  and  fire,  you  and  Providence  seem  to 
have  had  a  serious  falling  out  of  late."  What  was  greatly 
valued  by  Daly  was  a  letter  of  sympathy  from  the  veteran 
James  L.  Smith  of  The  Sunday  Courier^  who  had  given 
him,  as  a  youth,  his  first  employment  and  encouragement. 

To  open  "Daly's  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre,"  as  the  reju- 
venated playhouse  was  now  called,  the  manager  resolved 
to  produce  a  new  play,  reserving  the  fateful  but  successful 
"New  Year's  Eve"  for  contingencies.  He  had  offers  in 
plenty.  Mrs.  Olive  Logan,  writing  her  gratitude  for  his 
efforts  with  her  "Surf,"  announced  a  new  piece  prepared 
in  collaboration  with  her  husband,  William  Wirt  Sikes, 
the  United  States  Consul  at  Cardiff,  Wales.  Dumas' 
"Femme  de  Claude"  had  been  acquired  by  formal  con- 
tract with  that  eminent  author.  Bret  Harte  had  already 
interviewed  him  : 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  119 

"217  East  49th  St. 

Wednesday. 
My  dear  Mr.  Daly  : 

Sunday  is,  in  law,  a  dies  non,  but  in  fact  is  a  good  day  for  the 
unfolding  of  a  great  moral  purpose,  such  as  I  need  not  say  would 
be  a  play  from  this  hand,  submitted  to  the  author  of  'Divorce.' 
Look  for  me  then  on  Sunday  at  10  a.m.,  at  wh.  hour  the  curtain 
will  rise  promptly  upon  the  performances  of  two  young  men  from 
whom  posterity  expects  everything. 

Confidentially  yours 

Bret  Harte. 
Aug.  Daly  Esq." 

But  Daly  already  had  in  mind  a  novelty.  This  was 
"Alixe,"  from  the  French  of  "La  Comtesse  de  Somerive," 
by  the  Baroness  de  Prevois.  On  the  night  of  January  21  > 
1873,  the  eager  crowd  that  poured  Into  Nos.  728-30 
Broadway  and  found  themselves  on  velvet  carpets  in  an 
interior  of  crimson  and  gold  and  in  the  very  atmosphere 
of  the  uptown  "jewel  box,"  might  have  recalled  the  many 
changes  upon  this  spot.  Old  churchgoers  remembered  it 
as  The  Church  of  the  Messiah,  in  which  the  commence- 
ment exercises  of  the  neighboring  University  of  the  City 
of  New  York  were  held  when  a  young  graduate,  Oakey 
Hall  (he  took  the  English  honors),  delivered  an  address 
on  the  poet  Keats,  and  composed  a  dialogue  between 
The  Ghosts  of  the  Past,  the  Present,  and  the  Future,  with 
the  prophecy : 

"Even  this  church  of  our  Commencement  page 
A  playhouse  is,  with  Shakespeare  as  the  rage." 

All  memories  however  gave  way  when,  amid  a  roar  of 
applause,  the  familiar  orchestra  of  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Theatre  took  their  seats  with  Harvey  Dodworth  as  leader, 
and   old   Padovani's   bald   pate  was   seen   exactly   in   its 


I20  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

accustomed  place.  Still  greater  was  the  welcome  to  the 
assembled  company,  when  the  curtain  rose  and  disclosed 
them  delightfully  lined  up  to  recite  an  address  written 
by  John  Brougham,  in  which  each  principal  had  a  line 
recalling  some  favorite  incident  of  the  past  three  years. 
Up  to  this  time  the  genius  of  the  enterprise  had  not  shown 
himself,  but  no  sooner  was  the  prologue  ended  than  the 
whole  house  burst  out  with  "Daly!"  and  broke  into  the 
wildest  demonstration  when  the  tall  and  slender  figure 
with  the  pale  face  and  brilliant  eyes  stepped  upon  the 
scene.  One  line  of  his  address  dwells  in  the  memory  : 
"The  casket  is  gone,  but  the  jewels  are  safe.  In  fact,  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  is  not  destroyed,  its  life  and  soul 
are  here.  There  is  simply  a  change  of  scene  ;  and  between 
the  last  act  and  this,  'a  period  of  three  weeks  is  supposed 
to  have  elapsed';    that  is  all." 

By  the  time  the  personal  greetings  between  the  stage 
and  the  public  had  been  exchanged,  the  audience  was  full 
of  the  spirit  of  the  old  nights  in  the  old  house.  The  old 
spell  was  upon  everybody,  now  profoundly  strengthened 
by  the  affecting  play  that  inaugurated  the  new  house. 
Miss  Morris,  Miss  Davenport,  Miss  Morant,  Miss  Dietz, 
Miss  Mortimer,  Clarke,  James,  Lewis,  Fisher,  Burnett, 
and  Beekman  were  the  few  who  shared  in  the  eventful 
first  night.  Miss  Morris  and  Miss  Dietz  represented 
half-sisters,  the  children  of  the  Comtesse  de  Somerive 
(Miss  Morant).  The  elder,  condemned  to  the  shade  while 
her  happier  sister  sports  in  the  sunlight,  has  nevertheless 
no  plaint  to  make,  even  when  her  only  affection  has  to  be 
added  to  her  sacrifices.  This  stroke  kills.  There  was  no 
display  of  force  in  the  acting  of  Miss  Morris.  None  was 
called  for;    the  mute  appeal  was  transcendent. 

The  press,  like  the  audience,  was  enraptured.  Said 
one  journal :   "That  so  simple  a  story  can  be  so  eflFectively 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  121 

told  is  a  credit  to  the  stage."  Said  another:  "Faults 
may  no  doubt  be  discerned  after  the  glare  which  Mr.  Daly 
has  thrown  about  this  opening  subsides,  but  it  is  more 
graceful,  as  it  is  more  delightful,  to  simply  recount  at  this 
time  the  unqualified  triumph  of  the  management  in  the 
new  home,  the  company  on  the  new  stage,  and  the  play 
of  'Alixe'  in  its  new  dress." 

For  two  months  the  new  play  charmed,  and  then  "New 
Year's  Eve"  was  revived,  followed  by  "Old  Heads  and 
Young  Hearts"  and  "Divorce."  The  season  of  five 
months  here  was  closed  ^  with  Mosenthal's  "Madeleine 
Morel,"  produced  on  May  20,  1873.  The  denouement  of 
this  play  was  altered  by  Daly.  It  presented  an  incident 
new  to  the  theatre.  A  novice  about  to  take  the  veil 
meets  in  a  church  with  a  marriage  party;  and  the  bride- 
groom is  recognized  by  the  despairing  girl  as  the  cause  of 
her  misery.  The  awful  nature  of  the  result,  the  frenzy 
and  wreck  of  mind,  was  almost  beyond  the  limits  of  a 
social  play  and  belonged  rather  to  the  regions  of  pure 
tragedy. 

Daly  found  time  to  arrange  the  annual  charity  benefit 
at  the  Academy  of  Music,  which  netted  ten  thousand 
dollars  and  which  ought  to  be  associated  with  the  memory 
of  the  beautiful  Adelaide  Neilson.  Her  generous  co- 
operation having  been  secured  by  Daly,  she  exerted  her- 
self to  retain  E.  A.  Sothern,  whom  a  California  engage- 
ment threatened  to  carry  off,  and  succeeded.  Sothern 
played  in  "A  Regular  Fix,"  Miss  Neilson  and  her  com- 
pany played  an  act  of  "As  You  Like  It,"  the  Daly  com- 
pany gave  the  third  act  of  "Madeleine  Morel,"  Charles 
Fechter  appeared  in  an  act  of  "Hamlet,"  George  L.  Fox 
in  scenes  from  "Humpty  Dumpty,"  and  Dan  Bryant 
with  his  minstrels.     It  was  one  of  the  few  benefit  perform- 

ijune  28,  1873. 


122  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

ances  in  which  there  have  been  no  disappointments  — 
thanks  to  Miss  Neilson. 

In  addition  to  the  very  great  labors  of  this  season,  enough 
to  tax  the  energies  of  many  men,  Daly  leased  and  managed 
the  Grand  Opera  House  in  New  York,  the  very  large 
and  handsome  theatre  on  the  corner  of  Twenty-third 
Street  and  Eighth  Avenue ;  the  account  of  this  unique 
undertaking  will  be  made  the  subject  of  a  separate  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XI 

How  managers  "spread."  Daly  leases  the  Grand  Opera  House. 
"Le  Roi  Carotte"  a  great  spectacle.  "Round  the  Clock."  New 
York  scenes.  Harry  Hill's.  Vice  in  the  rough.  "The  Cataract 
of  the  Ganges."  "Roughing  It."  Production  of  Sardou's 
"L'Oncle  Sam."  His  pictures  of  American  life,  social,  industrial, 
and  political.  Charles  Fechter,  turned  out  of  14th  Street,  is  shel- 
tered by  Daly  at  the  Grand  Opera  House.  "Monte  Cristo." 
"The  Corsican  Brothers."  "Ruy  Bias."  "Charge"  for  charity. 
Bronson  Howard  and  "Old  Western  Hemisphere."  Second  Sea- 
son. Charlotte  Cushman's  opinion  of  the  modern  stage.  A 
managers'  association.  Borrowing  actors.  Shakespeare  memorial 
window.  Young  John  Drew  introduced  to  Daly.  Portents.  "A 
Midsummer  Night's  Dream."  Grand  opera  with  Lucca  and  Di 
Murska.  "The  Wandering  Jew."  "Humpty  Dumpty  Abroad." 
Fox  as  Richard  HI  for  charity.  Another  benefit  got  up  by  Wal- 
lack  and  Daly.  Daly's  Broadway  Theatre  begins  with  "La  Fille 
de  Madame  Angot."  "The  New  Magdalen"  rehearsed  by  Wilkie 
Collins.  The  panic  of  1873  ruins  theatrical  business  and  catches 
Daly  with  two  theatres  on  his  shoulders  and  a  third  building. 
"An  Atlas  of  Theatres." 

In  the  noon  of  his  prosperity  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre 
Daly  found  himself  lessee  of  the  Grand  Opera  House. 
Young  and  phenomenally  successful  theatrical  managers 
are  never  satisfied  with  one  theatre.  Material,  excellent 
and  abundant,  demands  more  room  ;  I  have  no  doubt  that 
Thespis  was  early  compelled  to  hire  two  carts.  When 
Daly  was  ofi"ered  "Le  Roi  Carotte,"  —  music  by  Offen- 
bach, book  by  Sardou,  a  spectacle  and  opera  suitable 
for  a  great  theatre,  —  the  Grand  Opera  House  was  the 
only  place  available.  It  was  out  of  the  way,  and  accessible 
only  by  omnibus  from  Broadway;    but  Mr.  Duff  had  his 

123 


124  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

eye  on  it  and  was  waiting  for  the  present  tenant  to  fail,  as 
all  had  done  who  leased  it  since  it  was  built  by  Samuel 
Pike  in  1868  as  a  rival  to  the  Academy  of  Music.  But 
Daly,  not  knowing  Mr.  Duff's  plans,  bought  out  the 
tenant  for  fifteen  thousand  dollars  and  began  to  recon- 
struct the  stage  for  "King  Carrot."  An  expensive  com- 
pany was  assembled  :  Mrs.  John  Wood  (lately  returned 
from  England),  Miss  Emma  Howson,  Miss  Rose  Hersee, 
John  Brougham,  Stuart  Robson,  two  families  of  acrobats, 
—  the  Majiltons  and  the  Lauris,  —  and  an  army  of  other 
people  of  both  sexes.  The  costumes  and  properties  were 
bought  in  France  for  a  hundred  thousand  francs.  The 
play  cost  as   much  more. 

The  story  of  the  play,  a  thinly  disguised  political 
squib,  told  how  a  people  discarded  an  ancient  line  of 
sovereigns  to  pick  a  king  from  the  kitchen  garden,  and 
finally,  in  a  great  revolt,  restored  their  exiled  monarch. 
It  drew  immensely  at  first.  A  striking  tableau  was  the 
resurrection  of  the  city  of  Pompeii  from  its  lava-covered 
fields,  and  its  reengulfment  by  an  eruption  of  Vesuvius. 
An  admirable  trick  was  the  dismemberment  of  the 
wizard  Quiribibi,  the  casting  of  his  members  (under  his 
direction)  in  a  furnace,  and  his  emergence  therefrom 
rejuvenated.     The  music  was  of  a  superior  order. 

After  three  months  the  fairy  spectacle  was  replaced 
by  "Round  the  Clock,"  an  extravaganza  of  New  York 
scenes.  There  was  "Harry  Hill's,"  on  the  corner  of 
Houston  and  Crosby  streets,  a  famous  spot  in  police 
annals,  the  detectives  seldom  failing  to  find  there  at  some 
time  the  man  or  woman  they  wanted.  The  afi"able  Mr. 
Hill  received  Mr.  Daly,  accompanied  by  the  indispensable 
"plain  clothes  man,"  on  a  visit  of  inspection  preparatory 
to  putting  the  place  on  the  stage.  The  room  there  in 
which  the  public  entertainments  were  given,  though  large, 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  125 

was  coarse  and  squalid.  There  was  no  "gilded  vice"  at 
Harry  Hill's.  A  platform  of  plain  boards  held  a  cheap 
piano,  for  the  accompaniment  of  singers  without  voices 
or  any  other  attraction.  Sometimes  the  benevolent 
proprietor  gave  a  poor  waif  a  chance  to  earn  a  living 
there,  and  on  the  night  of  the  manager's  visit  a  blind 
woman  sang  in  a  pitiful  way,  and  was  rewarded  by 
contributions  taken  up  on  the  spot.  Throngs  of  visitors 
came  and  went  or  sat  at  small  tables  for  refreshments. 
Several  notorious  "crooks"  were  pointed  out,  and  well- 
dressed  women  came  in  now  and  then  from  the  street 
to  hold  brief  colloquies  with  them  at  the  tables  or  at 
the  bar.  One  tall  and  handsome  creature,  expensively 
gowned,  stood  earnestly  conversing  with  an  evil-visaged 
man,  whose  demeanor,  however,  was  very  respectful. 
She  was  known  to  the  detectives  as  the  wife  of  a  burglar 
then  serving  his  time,  and  was  understood  to  be  engaged 
in  a  serious  business  talk  with  one  of  his  associates.  After 
the  conversation  she  left,  with  a  cursory  glance  at  the 
company. 

The  principal  attraction  of  the  place  to  its  habitues 
was  an  occasional  boxing  contest  between  youthful 
amateurs  or,  on  great  occasions,  between  distinguished 
professors  of  the  manly  art  of  self-defence.  It  was  the 
boast  of  Harry  that  he  kept  the  best  of  order  in  his 
place.  Signs  were  conspicuously  posted  on  the  walls, 
"No  lovers  allowed."  But  this  was  not  to  be  interpreted 
as  a  discouragement  of  the  tender  passion,  for  the  expen- 
sively dressed  ladies  were  never  so  welcome  as  when 
attended  by  liberal  admirers.  The  lovers  who  were 
warned  off  were  the  unspeakable  ruffians  who  lived  upon 
the  earnings  of  the  women. 

The  picturesque  features  of  this  den  were  what  the 
manager    desired    to    reproduce :     the     stage,    the    char- 


126  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

acteristic  patrons,  the  humble  singers  and  dancers,  the 
amateur  boxers  ;  and  for  the  exigencies  of  the  plot,  an 
irruption  of  police  in  pursuit  of  criminals  was  invented. 
This  innovation  was  resented  bv  Mr.  Hill,  who  wrote  to 
Mr.  Daly,  objecting  also  to  the  place  being  called  a  "crib," 
and  advising  the  impresario  that  several  gentlemen  of 
his  acquaintance  were  kept  from  visiting  the  Grand 
Opera  House  with  their  families  by  reason  of  such  mis- 
interpretations : 

"N.  York,  Dec.  9th  1872 
Mr.  Daly, 

I  perceive  by  your  advertisement  this  day  the  title  you  think 
proper  to  call  my  house  —  A  Crib.  Allow  me  to  tell  you 
plainly  it  never  was  considered  in  such  a  Light,  also  your 
representation  is  very  Low.  I  never  have  police  to  rush  into 
my  house,  or  to  be  represented  by  such  a  crowd.  I  pay  License 
and  as  such  deserve  and  will  not  be  held  up  by  any  one.  your 
reputation  is  in  its  morning  mine  has  arrived  to  mid  day 
Therefore  I  would  wish  you  to  understand  me  perfectly.  An 
alteration  would  be  an  advantage  to  you.  As  several  gentle- 
men of  my  acquaintance  would  take  their  families  to  see  Harry 
Hills  as  it  is.  I  think  you  trust  your  agents,  and  have  not 
given  it  any  attention  yourself. 

rasp  yours. 
Harry  Hill. 

26  E  Houston" 

The  play  was  immensely  attractive  and  drew  great 
audiences,  notwithstanding  the  regretted  absence  of  the 
discriminating  gentlemen  of  poor  Harry  Hill's  acquaint- 
ance.    It  was  acted  for  two  months. 

To  follow  "Round  the  Clock,"  "The  Cataract  of  the 
Ganges  "  was  revived  for  the  first  time  in  twenty  years,  — 
a  spectacle  displaying  extraordinary  feats  of  horsemanship, 
the  chief  sensation  being  a  scene  covering  the  whole  height 
as  well  as  depth  of  the  stage,  and  presenting  a  succession 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  127 

of  waterfalls,  which  a  highly  mettled  horse  with  a  rider 
ascended  in  great  bounds,  leaping  from  glistening  rock 
to  rock  and  dashing  aside  the  spray  with  its  hoofs. 
Brougham  assisted  his  manager  in  grafting  upon  the 
ancient  spectacle  an  old  farce,  the  locale  of  which  was 
East  India,  and  which  gave  Mrs.  Wood  and  himself  an 
opportunity  to  enliven  the  scene. 

After  this  came  "Roughing  It,"  dramatized  by  Mr. 
Daly  from  Mark  Twain's  book ;  and  this  was  followed  by 
the  real  sensation  of  the  season  — ■  a  picture  of  American 
life  and  manners  by  an  eminent  Frenchman  whose  knowl- 
edge of  both  was  derived  from  foreign  and  domestic 
caricature.  This  instructive  dramatic  satire  was  the 
work  of  M.  Victorien  Sardou,  and  was  called  "L'Oncle 
Sam."  While  preparing  for  production  at  the  Paris 
Vaudeville^  it  was  engaged  by  my  brother  for  America. 
The  subsequent  intelligence  that  it  had  been  interdicted 
by  the  French  Government  as  likely  to  be  offensive  to 
the  Americans,  and  that  M.  Sardou  had  addressed  a  re- 
monstrance to  the  President  of  the  Republic,  was  not 
calculated  to  lessen  interest  on  this  side.      Sardou  said  : 

"I  protest  against  this  judgment.  'Uncle  Sam'  attacks  in  no 
way  the  political  institutions  of  the  United  States.  It  is  simply 
a  comedy  of  manners,  a  criticism  of  American  eccentricities,  as 
the  'Famille  Benoiton'  was  a  criticism  of  French  eccentricities; 
a  criticism  made  without  bitterness  and  which  never  passes 
the  limits  of  that  liberty  which  has  always  belonged  in  every  age 
to    comedy. 

Not  one  of  the  personages  of  the  play  is  an  odious  character, 
and  if  any  expression  really  injurious  to  the  United  States  is 
pointed  out  to  me,  I  am  ready  to  expunge  it  on  the  instant." 

"Uncle  Sam"  therefore  made  its  first  appearance  on 
any  stage, ^  in  America,  and  was  a  veritable  native-born 

1  March  17,  1873. 


128  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

citizen  of  foreign  parentage.  The  opening  scene  was  one 
of  those  "  fashionable  resorts,"  the  upper  deck  of  an  Albany 
day-boat  on  its  way  to  the  metropolis.  A  couple  of  French 
tourists  (one  a  marquis,  the  other  a  virtuoso  on  a  concert 
tour)  have  come  on  deck  to  escape  the  drinking  and  card- 
playing  in  the  saloon.  Here  they  are  joined  by  a  com- 
patriot, a  lady  from  New  Orleans,  who  gives  her  experience 
with  the  American  judicial  system  in  her  legal  contest  over 
an  estate  situated  partly  in  Massachusetts  and  partly  in 
Connecticut,  the  house  itself  being  divided  by  the  State 
line.  She  had  gained  the  suit  in  Connecticut,  but  had 
lost  it  in  Massachusetts.  On  appeal  each  judgment  was 
reversed,  and  she  lost  in  Connecticut  but  won  in 
Massachusetts.  The  final  result  is  to  give  her  the  parlor 
and  award  her  adversary  the  salle  a  manger.  Her  specula- 
tions in  buying  real  estate  are  not  less  exciting  :  A  clever 
gentleman  manages  to  sell  her  a  factory  in  Arkansas  at 
the  very  moment  that  it  is  burning  up ;  and  another  sells 
her  a  bog  in  Kentucky  which  "  takes  in  "  all  its  proprietors. 
The  tourists  are  joined  by  a  young  American  journalist 
who  describes  to  them  that  typical  American,  the  Hon. 
Samuel  Tapplehot  (L'Oncle  Sam),  who  "sold  brooms  at  the 
age  of  twelve,  was  porkpacker  at  seventeen,  manufacturer 
of  shoe-polish  at  twenty,  made  a  fortune  in  cocoa,  lost  in 
tobacco,  rose  again  with  indigo,  fell  with  salt  pork,  re- 
bounded with  cotton  and  settled  definitely  upon  guano. 
He  rises  at  six,  rushes  to  his  office  in  an  omnibus,  is  greedy, 
extravagant,  cunning  and  credulous ;  without  scruples, 
yet  a  good  fellow  ;  will  throw  you  overboard  for  a  hundred 
dollars  and  spend  two  hundred  to  fish  you  out;  a  perfect 
type  of  the  American  whom  nothing  discourages,  always 
at  the  front,  his  eyes  fixed  upon  his  three  beacons  —  wealth 
for  an  end,  cunning  for  the  means,  and  as  for  morals  — 


success 


!" 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  129 

"You  know  him  then?"  asks  the  marquis. 

"Very  well.     He  was  my  father-in-law  for  six  months," 

responds  the  journalist,  who  had  married  L'Oncle  Sam's 
eldest  daughter  and  is  happily  divorced. 

This  introduces,  of  course,  the  characteristic  American 
complication.  The  wife  has  married  again,  and  we  see 
her  effusively  greet  her  first,  to  whom  she  introduces  her 
second.  Her  indulgent  father  complains  gently  of  having 
been  overlooked  in  the  announcement  of  the  second  union. 
"Why,"  she  exclaims,  "didn't  you  get  my  telegram."*" 
They  discuss  the  respective  husbands.  "I  like  the  first 
one  best,"  says  Uncle  Sam,  "and  he  seems  to  be  still  very 
fond  of  you  !"  This  sets  the  lady  thinking;  and,  as  the 
assistance  of  the  journalist  is  important  to  one  of  Papa's 
new  deals,  she  confidently  undertakes  to  secure  it.  The 
result  is  a  return  to  number  one. 

A  "typical"  aldermanic  contest  is  described.  Three 
days  before  the  election,  the  Democrats  have  gained  a 
great  point  by  exhibiting  at  their  headquarters  an  educated 
seal  which  smokes  a  pipe.  The  Republicans,  whose 
candidate  had  risen  from  the  cobbler's  bench,  were  in 
despair  until  they  hit  upon  the  happy  expedient  of  ex- 
hibiting him  in  the  act  of  making  a  pair  of  shoes  for  the 
poor.     After  that,  the  seal  may  go  to  the  bottom. 

But  the  flower  of  all  things  American  in  the  play  is  the 
American  girl,  exemplified  in  Miss  Sarah  Tapplebot,  the 
orphan  niece  of  the  prosperous  Uncle  Sam.  She  comes 
upon  the  crowded  deck,  looks  about  for  a  seat,  taps  the 
marquis  on  the  shoulder  with  her  parasol,  and,  when  he 
starts  to  his  feet,  hat  in  hand,  carries  away  his  chair  to 
sit  on  it  beside  her  own  party.  "She  did  not  even  say 
'thank  you!'"  murmurs  the  bewildered  foreigner.  "Oh, 
never,"  says  his  compatriot,  placidly.     From  that  moment 


130  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

the  marquis  determines  to  win  the  American  girl,  and 
reduce  to  submission  this  self-possessed  creature  who 
flirts  with  a  hundred  men  until  she  chooses  her  particular 
victim  and  compels  him  to  wear  her  chains.  Fate  is 
propitious.  Without  waiting  to  be  introduced,  she  takes 
his  arm  as  a  matter  of  course  and  orders  him  to  help 
her  down  the  gang-plank.  As  the  members  of  her  party 
rush  off  to  business  in  different  directions,  these  two  walk 
about  the  town,  visit  the  shops,  and  lunch  in  a  restau- 
rant;  and  he  is  finally  invited  to  tea  at  her  uncle's  hotel. 
"But  won't  your  uncle  think  it  rather  strange.^"  "My 
uncle!  It's  none  of  his  business!"  He  accepts.  The 
home  of  Tapplebot  is  a  hotel.  All  wealthy  Americans  live 
in  hotels.  Hither  come  at  night  a  dozen  couples  of  young 
people,  all  flirting,  each  couple  seated  apart.  The 
bewitching  Sarah  engages  the  enraptured  Marquis  in 
conversation  in  which  she  cross-examines  him  as  to  his 
rank,  his  income,  his  capital  and  what  it  is  invested  in, 
permits  his  ardent  protestations  of  love,  secures  his 
pencilled  declaration,  and  in  the  end  gets  her  hat  and 
wrap  and  announces  that  she  is  going  to  Long  Branch. 
The  marquis  sadly  relates  the  sequel :  "  I  was  sent  skipping 
from  icebergs  to  flames,  from  red  pepper  to  snowballs, 
exasperated  at  beholding  the  fruit  almost  at  my  lips  and 
unable  to  clutch  it.  I  was  mad.  I  understand  now  the 
meaning  of  the  word  'flirtation' !  But  how  do  they  carry 
it  on  without  singeing  their  wings  .'*  Heavens  !  What  are 
American  women  made  of  .^  And  you  will  ask  what  were 
the  words  to  all  this  music  "i  A  serious  and  tender 
prattle  —  conversation  witty  and  childlike  —  an  in- 
definable perfume  rising  from  this  strange  flower  of  a  new 
world !  At  length  yesterday  she  became  all  at  once 
reserved  —  alarmed  !  I  expected  to  see  her  at  dinner  — 
she  did  not  come.     I  went  to  her  room  —  gone  !     Gone 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  131 

without  a  word  of  farewell."  The  explanation  of  her 
flight,  however,  was  simple.  This  bold,  capable,  and  con- 
fident young  American  has  suddenly  become  conscious 
of  love,  and  her  flight  is  a  confession.  He  has  conquered. 
He  does  not  know  it  until  he  clasps  her  in  his  arms  and 
she  pleads,  "Leave  me  —  oh,  leave  me  —  Robert,  I  am 
afraid!"  Whereupon  he  joyfully  exclaims:  "At  last! 
That  is  the  cry  I  wanted  to  hear  from  your  lips  !  Oh, 
maiden  modesty!  You  still  exist!"  and  he  makes  her 
his  wife. 

Somehow,  the  play  was  not  convincing. 

While  "Uncle  Sam"  was  playing,  Mr.  Daly  learned  of 
the  misfortune  of  Charles  Fechter,  who  was  compelled  to 
abandon  his  enterprise  of  converting  the  Fourteenth  Street 
Theatre  into  a  model  playhouse  after  his  own  artistic 
designs.  Daly  at  once  invited  the  shipwrecked  manager 
and  actor  to  make  use  of  the  Grand  Opera  House  and  its 
company  for  a  timely  appearance : 

"28  March,  '73. 
Dear  Mr.  Daly 

I  really  don't  know  how  to  answer  your  kind  proposal ;  or 
rather  I  answer  by  accepting  it  at  once. 

You  have  taken  a  frightful  load  off  my  mind  :  That  of  break- 
ing my  faith  with  the  public. 

Although  I  was  unlawfully  and  in  a  vile  way  forced  to  it,  I 
could  not  bear  the  notion  of  disappointing  my  supporters ; 
thanks  to  you  I  feel  myself  anew ;  and  thanks  to  you  again 
'Monte  Cristo'  will  be  presented  this  season  spite  all  ugly  tricks 
to  prevent  its  appearance. 

Name  your  terms,  I  accept  them  'd'avance';  and  shall  ever 
consider  myself  in  your  debt,  for  the  light  your  brotherly  assist- 
ance will  throw  on  the  whole  matter. 

Yours  thankfully 

Chas.  Fechter." 


132  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Preparation  was  immediately  made  by  Daly  for 
Fechter's  debut  in  "Monte  Cristo,"  the  play  he  was  pre- 
paring in  Fourteenth  Street  when  evicted,  and  on  April 
28  it  was  given  in  magnificent  style  to  a  crowded  house. 
Fechter  was  then  at  the  ripe  age  of  fifty,  and  master  of 
the  whole  art  of  acting.  His  acting  was  technical  per- 
fection, and  inspired  on  this  occasion  by  his  victory  over 
what  had  seemed  lasting  defeat.     Next  day  he  wrote  : 

"29  April  '73. 
Dear  Daly 

I  think  '  fFe^ve  got  'em.' 

Now  let  me  once  more  and  personally  thank  you  from  the 
bottom  of  my  heart  for  your  brotherly  and  effectual  support  in 
the  whole  matter.  It  was  indeed  wonderfully  carried  out !  No 
word  in  our  poor  restricted  language  can  express  my  entire  satis- 
faction. 

Thanks  again  heartily.    *   *   *   * 

Yours  ever  sincerely 

Chas.  Fechter." 

"The  Corsican  Brothers"  followed  "Monte  Cristo"  for 
one  week  and  was  succeeded  by  "Ruy  Bias"  for  another. 
On  June  14  the  closing  performance  of  this  arduous  and 
exciting  season  took  place.  Before  going  on  his  vacation 
Fechter  responded  in  his  hearty  style  to  a  request  to  play 
for  charity  : 

"  14  May  73 

My  dear  Daly 

I  am  all  yours,  and  at  the  free  disposal  of  the  Foundlings' 
Asylum. 

My  'terms'  as  usual  for  all  charitable  purposes:    $00000! 

Sincerely  thine 

Chas.  Fechter. 

We  must  have  a  chat  about  next  season  —  if  you  really  want 
me  —  proposals  are  pouring.'' 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  133 

Fechter  did  not  play  again  under  Mr.  Daly's  manage- 
ment, but  he  continued  for  five  years  afterwards  to  fill 
engagements  in  various  cities  in  this  country.  He  ulti- 
mately retired  to  a  farm  in  Pennsylvania,  and  died,  it  is 
said,  in  poverty.  Although  exacting  very  high  terms  for 
his  performances,  his  indifference  in  business  matters 
usually  left  him  in  difficulties  which  his  faculty  for  con- 
tention (with  managers)  did  not  tend  to  lighten.  His 
audience  appeared  to  be  limited.  Although  the  most 
finished  and  capable  of  actors,  he  was  not  popular. 
Easily  holding  the  whole  attention  while  on  the  scene,  he 
nevertheless  sent  the  spectator  away  unsatisfied.  The 
impression  he  left  upon  me  was  that  of  a  consummate 
actor  consciously  displaying  his  art.  As  a  reader,  I 
think  he  would  have  been  completely  satisfying.  An  offer 
of  ^500  a  night  for  readings  was  made  to  him  by  J.  B. 
Pugh,  the  impresario  of  the  lecture  field,  through  my 
brother,  but  without  scenic  surroundings  the  stage  had 
no  charm  for  the  artist. 

Before  closing  this  chapter  of  Mr.  Daly's  first  season 
of  "grand  productions"  in  the  vast  Opera  House,  I 
must  confide  to  the  reader  a  fancy  which  seized  upon  the 
imagination  of  Bronson  Howard  after  he  had  seen  "Le 
Roi  Carotte."  This  was  an  immense  allegorical  spectacle 
showing  the  origin  and  growth  of  America,  with  a  greater 
personage  even  than  Uncle  Sam  as  the  genius  of  our 
continent  and  dominating  the  scene  —  "Old  Western 
Hemisphere,"  whom  I  conceive  to  be  a  species  of  brooding 
giant  shaping  the  destinies  of  Brother  Jonathan  and  the 
Central  and  South  American  republics,  all  children  of  the 
venerable  protector.  Beginning  with  the  red  man,  the 
play  was  to  come  down  to  Columbus  and  Montezuma 
and  the  discovery  of  the  Pacific.  The  long  letter  of 
Howard  was  a  brilliant  scenario.     This  dream  of  the  in- 


134  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

ventive  young  playwright  only  afforded  the  manager  a 
moment  of  pleasant  contemplation,  clouded  perhaps  by 
calculations  of  the  acres  of  canvas,  forests  of  timber, 
menageries  of  wild  beasts,  armies  of  supernumeraries,  and 
treasuries  of  gold  necessary  to  realize  it,  not  to  mention 
the  time  consumed  in  the  performance,  which  would  have 
had  to  be  reckoned  not  by  hours  but  by  days. 

For  his  second  season  at  the  Grand  Opera  House  Mr. 
Daly  thought  of  bringing  back  Miss  Charlotte  Cushman, 
then  long  retired,  in  her  great  part  Meg  Merrilies.  His 
suggestion  induced  a  reply  which  will  be  worth  the  reader's 
attention. 

"Villa  Cushman, 
Newport, 

R.  L 

July  7th,  1873. 
Dear  Mr.  Daly. 

Your  favor  of  the  4th  in.  reed.  Contents  noted  &  generally 
satisfactory  to  me.  The  only  thing  which  admits  of  question  is 
whether  I  shall  be  able  to  act  seven  times  in  the  week.  If  I 
am  able,  be  sure,  I  shall  do  it  —  but  your  note  binds  me  to  act 
seven  times  if  I  ^^ enter  upon  the  engage' t.''^  To  this  I  can  not 
bind  myself.  I  am  not  a  capricious  person.  I  have  never 
placed  myself  in  any  antagonism  to  the  interests  of  the  Theatre 
where  I  am  engaged  —  therefore  you  must  trust  to  my  justice 
&  my  ability  to  carry  out  that  clause  in  your  letter. 

All  else  seems  to  me  quite  rightly  understood  by  you.  I  do 
not  wish  to  have  my  character  in  'Guy  Mannering'  —  (as  I 
prefer  it  should  still  be  called)  —  augmented  or  changed  at  all. 
As  I  give  it  —  it  reaches  the  extent  of  my  power,  &  if  increased 
would  only  be  beyond  it.  It  seems  to  me  —  as  I  recollect 
seeing  the  play  acted  in  the  old  times,  that  properly  placed  upon 
the  stage,  the  drama  is  good  enough  as  it  is.  The  great  diffi- 
culty, to-day,  is  the  incompetency  of  the  actors  &  their  careless- 
ness in  dealing  with  the  parts  in  Guy  Mannering,  because  of  the 
old  fashioned  character  of  the  dialogue  1     Look  at  the  cast  of 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  135 

the  earliest  time,  in  London  —  what  great  names  were  in  all 
the  subordinate  parts !  Get  together  a  company  to  perform 
these  characters  as  they  have  been  —  &  still  can  be  —  concocted 
by  the  old  actor  Terry  in  conjunction  with  Wm.  Murray  &  Sir 
Walter  Scott  himself  —  who  wrote  things  for  the  Drama  which 
did  not  exist  in  the  novel  —  ought  to  be  good  enough  for  the 
audiences  of  to-day.  Let  the  singers  be  first  rate  —  the 
acting  first  rate  &  the  disposition  of  scenery  &c.  —  as  you  are 
famous  for  making  it  —  &  its  chances  are  as  good  as  would  be 
any  of  the  old  plays.  The  trouble  now-a-days  exists  in  the 
actors  —  they  lack  respect  for  the  profession  —  or  the  characters 
they  represent,  think  too  much  of  how  much  money  they  can 
get,  &  how  little  they  can  get  ofi'  with  giving,  in  the  way  of  real 
labour  in  their  art !     In  a  word  they  do  not  forget  themselves 

—  &  unless  one  does  —  he  can  never  be  an  actor !  Am  I  right 
or  not  ?  I  will  send  you  the  book  of  Guy  Mannering  in  a  day  or 
so.     My  letter  is  for  your  own  eye  —  In  my  stricture  upon  actors 

—  of  course  there  are  honorable  exceptions,  &  I  hope  as  you  have 
found  some,  you  may  be  able  to  find  more  &  bring  them  into 
*Guy  Mannering,'  when  we  shall  move  the  town  not  by  the 
startling  effects  of  our  strong  charcoal  sketch  but  by  the  grand 
strong  finished  picture  as  a  zvhole.     Believe  me  dear  sir, 

Yours  truly 

Charlotte  Cushman." 

A  little  contribution  to  the  general  theatrical  history 
of  the  period  will  not  be  out  of  place  here.  The  successful 
entry  of  Daly  into  New  York  theatricals  had  wrought  for 
a  time  a  wonderful  change  of  heart  among  the  old-time 
managers.  They  resolved  to  abandon  the  old  policy  of 
cut-throat  competition  and  to  come  together.  A  meeting 
was  called  at  Booth's  Theatre,  and  those  represented  agreed 
to  form  an  association  for  the  conduct  of  their  business, 
in  which  they  had  a  common  interest.  Mr.  Booth's 
brother-in-law,  J.  H.  Magonigle,  was  made  secretary, 
and  Fechter,  Booth,  Wallack,  Palmer,  Jarrett,  and  Daly 


136  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

were  members.  This  fraternity  could  be  very  service- 
able in  times  of  need.  Theodore  Moss  of  Wallack's 
applied  to  Daly  for  a  loan  from  his  extensive  company  to 
complete  the  cast  of  Boucicault's  "Mora";  and  later  in 
the  regular  season  Wallack  himself  wrote  under  the  stress 
of  urgent  need  : 

"Wallack's,  New  York,  Octr.  20th  1873. 
Dear  Mr.  Daly 

I  am  in  a  dilemma  caused  by  the  unprincipled  conduct  of  a 
lady,  who  has  deliberately  and  without  expressed  reason,  broken 
her  written  engagement  with  me. 

Will  you  assist  me  ?  I  ask  it  because,  under  like  circum- 
stances, I  would  certainly  do  as  much  for  you. 

Will  you  allow  me  to  engage  Miss  Rogers  ^  for  a  short  period 
(to  be  named  by  you)  to  perform  'Miss  Hardcastle'  in  'She 
Stoops  to  Conquer'.? 

If  you  could  spare  her  and  thus  oblige  me  I  shall  appreciate 
your  kindness  very  highly  and  will  hope  for  some  opportunity 
to  requite  you  in  kind. 

In  any  case  let  me  take  this  opportunity  of  wishing  you  all 
success  with  your  new  theatre. 

I  am 

Very  truly  yours 

Lester  Wallack." 

The  New  York  managers  interested  themselves  about 
this  time  in  a  proposed  memorial  window  to  Shakespeare 
to  be  placed  in  the  Stratford  Church  : 

"139  East  17  St. 

Jan.  5. 
My  dear  Mr.  Daly 

I  send  you  the  design  for  the  projected  memorial  window  to 
Shakespeare  I  have  just  received  from  my  friend  Graves ;   do 

'Katharine  Rogers,  the  original  Mimi  in  Boucicault's  version  of  "La 
Boheme." 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  137 

you  not  think  it  would  be  a  graceful  thing  for  the  several  com- 
panies of  New  York  to  identify  themselves  with  the  movement 
by  a  general  subscription  of  a  small  amount,  say  one  dollar, 
from  each  individual.  Should  you  agree  with  me,  the  proposi- 
tion would  come  with  more  force  from  you  than  from  any  other, 
as  I  am  well  aware  with  what  energy  and  perseverance  you  carry 
out  whatever  object  you  undertake. 

Sincerely  yours 

John  Brougham." 

In  a  line  from  Mrs.  John  Drew,  her  young  son,  then  a 
mere  lad,  vv^as  now  first  presented  to  his  future  manager. 
John  was  evidently  in  New  York  for  a  good  time  : 

"Arch  St.  Theatre 

Phila.  May  28  '73. 
My  dear  Sir 

If  not  inconsistent  with  your  regulations  will  you  oblige  me 
by  giving  my  son  (the  bearer  of  this)  two  seats  for  each  of  your 
theatres. 

Yours  truly 

Louisa  Drew." 
Aug.  Daly  Esqr. 

All  of  my  brother's  successes  as  playwright  and  manager 
for  ten  years  had  been  immediately  produced  at  Mrs. 
Drew's  Arch  Street  Theatre ;  and  between  the  famous 
actress  and  the  New  York  author  there  subsisted  a  warm 
regard. 

By  the  end  of  his  first  season  the  Grand  Opera  House 
began  to  assume  the  proportions  of  a  white  elephant,  and 
the  manager  recalled  to  me  an  incident  of  his  first  entry 
into  that  huge  building.  He  found  upon  his  desk  the 
fragment  of  a  leaf  from  the  Bible  which  had  apparently 
blown  in  through  the  open  window,  and  which  contained 
these  verses,  quite  prophetic  of  a  venture  whose  loss 
exceeded  its  profit  in  a  single  season  : 


138  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"For  which  of  you  having  a  mind  to  build  a  tower,  doth  not 
first  sit  down  and  reckon  the  charges  that  are  necessary,  whether 
he  have  wherewithal  to  finish  it : 

Lest  after  he  hath  laid  the  foundation,  and  is  not  able  to  finish 
it,  all  that  see  him  begin  to  mock  him, 

Saying  :  This  man  began  to  build  and  was  not  able  to  finish." 

The  loveliest  spectacle  the  stage  can  offer,  Shakespeare's 
"Midsummer  Night's  Dream,"  opened  the  second  season. 
Harkins  was  made  stage  manager,  having  returned  from 
his  brief  excursion  to  the  Union  Square  Theatre,  the 
prospects  of  which  establishment  were  somewhat  clouded 
by  the  retirement  of  Miss  Ethel  preparatory  to  her  mar- 
riage. The  hard-handed  men  of  Athens  were  :  G.  L.  Fox 
Bottom,  Frank  Hardenbergh  Quince,  Leclercq  Flute, 
Jennings  Snout,  and  C.  K.  Fox  Snug.  For  Puck  (the 
despair  of  managers  who  would  realize  the  ideals  of  the 
lovers  of  Shakespeare)  Daly  found  a  pretty  and  intelligent 
child,  —  "Fay"  Templeton.  It  may  be  recorded  here 
that  Mr.  Daly's  prompt  book  for  this  production  was 
sought  by  Miss  Cushman  for  one  of  her  readings. 

Shakespeare  was  followed  by  Italian  opera  under  the 
excellent  MaxMaretzek,  in  which  Pauline  Lucca,  Tamber- 
lik,  and  lima  Di  Murska  made  their  debuts.  Lucca  and 
Di  Murska  sang  together  In  "II  Flauto  Magico."  Shake- 
speare attracted  for  only  three  weeks,  and  Lucca  and  Di 
Murska  could  not  entice  to  Twenty-third  Street  the 
operatic  patrons  who  were  tied  to  their  shares  and  chairs 
in  Irving  Place.  The  impresario  who  sets  up  Italian 
opera  in  New  York  in  opposition  to  the  stockholders' 
establishment  cannot  be  saved  by  prayer. 

The  new  English  version  of  "The  Wandering  Jew"  was 
now  put  on.  It  was  the  latest  Parisian  dramatization  of 
Eugene  Sue's  romance;  but  the  wandering  Jew,  pursued 
by  inexorable  fate,  could  not  rest  even  in  the  comfortable 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  139 

Grand  Opera  House,  and  he  departed  as  the  rumble  of 
the  railroad  train  in  "Under  the  Gaslight"  was  heard 
in  the  near  distance.  This  revival  was  in  turn  supplanted 
by  "A  Flash  of  Lightning." 

A  hit  was  finally  made  in  a  new  pantomime  called 
"Humpty  Dumpty  Abroad,"  for  which  Mr.  Daly  con- 
structed an  introduction  adapted  from  a  French  feerie. 
Fox  was  now  permanently  severed  by  Mr.  Duff  from  the 
Olympic  Theatre  and  installed  at  the  Grand  Opera  House. 
He  was  exceedingly  funny  in  farce  as  well  as  pantomime ; 
in  fact,  he  was  the  last  of  the  old-fashioned  farce  actors. 
He  was  billed  to  appear  at  a  charity  benefit  at  the  Grand 
Opera  House,  and  the  advertisement  announced  that  the 
entertainment  would  conclude  with  the  fifth  act  of 
Shakespeare's  sublime  tragedy  "Richard  the  Third,"  in 
which  Mr.  G.  L.  Fox  would  sustain  the  character  of 
Richard  the  Third  and  Mr.  Frederick  Yokes  that  of  the 
Earl  of  Rich?nond.  The  bare  announcement  of  this 
desecration  of  the  classic  drama  was  sufficient  to  attract  a 
vast  audience,  which  awaited  with  emotion  the  respective 
appearances  of  Fox  and  Yokes  and  their  desperate  combat 
on  Bosworth  Plain.  When  it  is  understood  that  all  the 
characters  delivered  the  immortal  lines  of  Shakespeare 
(and  Gibber)  with  the  utmost  gravity ;  that  the  falling  of 
Fox's  steel  visor,  whenever  he  attempted  to  speak,  cut 
off  most  of  his  lines  until  he  reversed  the  helmet  and  wore 
it  hindside  before ;  that  one  of  his  steel  greaves  or  leg- 
pieces  got  loose  and  was  kicked  knee  high  at  every  step 
he  took ;  that,  in  the  combat,  his  Humpty  Dumpty 
shuffle  was  opposed  to  the  incredible  agility  of  Yokes, 
whose  Richmond  escaped  death  by  feats  of  legs  as  well 
as  of  arms,  the  whole  stupendous  joke  may  be  faintly 
realized.  Until  we  have  another  Fox  and  another  Yokes 
we   cannot  expect   to   see   again    such   exquisite   fooling. 


I40  THE  LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

The  entertainment  was  further  enlivened  by  Mr.  Fox 
selling  tickets  at  the  box-office,  the  Messrs.  Vokes  acting 
as  ushers,  and  the  Misses  Vokes  obliging  at  the  flower 
stand  and  distributing  programmes. 

Another  benefit  for  the  poor  was  given  during  the  same 
season  under  the  joint  supervision  of  Mr.  Wallack  and 
Mr.  Daly,  and  they  remitted  the  proceeds  to  the  lady 
patronesses  of  the  affair,  at  whose  head  was  Mrs.  James 
L  Roosevelt.  The  ladies  generously  resolved  to  devote 
a  portion  of  the  amount  to  the  profession  : 

"Mr.  Augustin  Daly. 
Sir. 

Enclosed  please  find  a  check  for  Nine  hunjlred,  sixty  five 
dollars  and  87  cents,  being  one  half  of  one  third  of  the  money 
donated  by  Mr.  Wallack  and  yourself  to  the  'Lady  Patronesses' 
of  the  Matinee  at  the  Academy  of  Music  March  19th. 

At  a  meeting  held  at  Mrs.  Sherwood's,  the  ladies  unanimously 
resolved  to  return  one  third  of  the  whole  amount  received  to 
Mr.  Wallack  and  yourself  to  be  distributed  among  the  aged  and 
indigent  actors  and  actresses  of  the  City. 

I  was  appointed  to  receive  the  money  and  distribute  It 
according  to  the  wishes  of  the  ladies.  Permit  me  to  thank  you 
in  their  name  for  your  noble  donation. 

Yours  with  respect 

Cornelia  Roosevelt. 

836  Broadway. 
April  30th 
1874." 

Wallack  wrote : 

"May  20th 

13  W.  30th  St. 
Dear  Daly  — 

Fm  blessed  if  I  know  what  we  had  better  do  with  our  Charity 
money. 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  141 

By  jingo,  now  that  I've  got  money  for  them  —  nobody  seems 
to  be  poor.  However,  I  have  divided  mine  into  portions  of  $25. 
each.  If  I  don't  find  as  many  as  I  had  anticipated  requiring 
relief  —  I  shall  make  the  twenty-fives  into  fifties  and  relieve 
a  lesser  number  with  larger  sums. 

I  hope  your  O.  T.  was  a  good  success  — 

Yours  ever  truly 

Lester  Wallack. 
A.  Daly  Esq." 

In  the  summer  of  1873  the  building  of  a  new  Fifth 
Avenue  Theatre  was  begun  on  Twenty-eighth  Street,  and 
the  recently  fitted  up  New  York  Theatre  (also  called  the  New 
Fifth  Avenue)  was  renamed  "Daly's  Broadway  Theatre," 
and  was  to  be  supplied  with  stars  supported  by  a  stock 
company.  The  first  engagement  was  extremely  fortunate. 
It  was  that  of  Mdlle.  Aimee  with  "La  Fille  de  Madame 
Angot,"  a  work  so  superior  to  the  ordinary  houffes  that  it 
was  awarded  at  once  by  competent  critics  a  place  in 
comic  opera.  Following  this  brilliant  musical  attraction 
came  some  engagements  which  were  unremunerative  : 
Miss  Minnie  Walton,  Mr.  J.  K.  Emmett,  William  H. 
Lingard  and  his  wife,  Miss  Alice  Dunning,  Miss  Lucille 
Western,  Miss  Virginia  Vaughan,  and  lastly  Miss 
Carlotta  Leclercq  in  a  dramatization  of  Wilkie  Collins' 
"The  New  Magdalen,"  rehearsed  by  himself  in  the 
intervals  of  a  lecture  tour  in  America. 

Hardly  was  the  season  of  1873  under  way  when  financial 
disaster  overtook  the  country.  The  failure  of  Jay  Cooke 
&  Co.  in  the  early  autumn  rendered  every  security  practi- 
cally unmarketable,  and  caused  the  suspension  of  nearly 
every  trust  company  and  of  all  the  banks  in  New  York 
save  one  —  the  Chemical.  People  in  easy  circumstances 
were  suddenly  reduced  to  borrow  for  the  ordinary  ex- 
penses of  life,  and  everybody  had  to  share  with  his  friend 


142  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

in  the  first  extreme  period  of  anxiety.  Of  course  theatrical 
business  felt  the  effect  of  the  financial  disaster  imme- 
diately. Daly  was  caught  with  two  theatres  open,  a 
third  building,  and  three  companies  to  provide  for.  The 
Daily  Graphic,  the  first  daily  illustrated  newspaper, 
covered  the  front  page  of  its  issue  of  November  ii,  1873, 
with  a  cartoon  representing  Daly  bending  beneath  the 
vast  burden  of  the  Grand  Opera  House,  and  having  as 
his  sole  support  a  staff  labelled  "Fifth  Avenue  Theatre." 
The  cartoon  was  entitled  "An  Atlas  of  Theatres." 


THIRD    PERIOD:    1 873-1 877 


CHAPTER  XII 

The  New  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  built  for  Daly.  Its  cost  to  him. 
Inciting  Americans  to  write  plays.  Mark  Twain's  letters.  He 
suggests  W.  D.  Howells.  Mr.  Howells'  letter.  Bronson  Howard. 
M.  Villa  of  the  Courier  des  Etats  Unis.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes 
writes  the  opening  address  for  the  new  theatre.  His  letters.  De- 
lay in  opening  caused  by  the  panic  of  1873.  The  Company. 
Defection  of  Miss  Morris.  Opening  of  the  new  house.  "Fortune" 
a  failure.  "The  Parricide."  Arrival  of  Miss  Ada  Dyas  from 
England.  "Man  and  Wife."  "Folline."  Production  of  "Love's 
Labour's  Lost"  for  the  first  time  in  America.  Richard  Grant 
White's  letter.  Oakey  Hall  advises  Daly  to  adapt  Shakespeare. 
Production  of  "Charity."  Miss  Davenport's  "Ruth  Tredgett." 
Production  of  "Monsieur  Alphonse."  Bijou  Heron.  Revival 
of  "Divorce"  and  "Oliver  Twist."  The  bad  beginning  makes  a 
good  end. 

On  the  site  of  the  present  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  on  Twenty- 
eighth  Street  near  Broadway,  there  once  stood  Ferrero's 
dancing  academy,  or  Apollo  Hall,  afterwards  converted 
into  the  little  St.  James  Theatre,  where  Susan  and  Blanche 
Galton  (the  latter  afterwards  Mrs.  Thomas  Whiffen  of 
"Pinafore"  fame)  played  vaudeville,  and  Steele  Mackaye 
first  displayed  his  Delsarte  system  of  acting.  The  prop- 
erty belonged  to  the  Gilsey  family,  and  they  offered  to 
build  a  theatre  upon  it  for  Mr.  Daly  according  to  his  own 
designs,  the  interior  and  stage  to  be  fitted  up  and  furnished 
at  his  own  expense,  and  the  rent  to  be  thirty  thousand 
dollars  per  annum  for  the  first  five  years,  and  thirty-five 
thousand  afterwards.  The  offer  was  accepted,  although 
the  furnishing  and  fitting  up  involved  a  cost  of  about  forty 
thousand  dollars  before  the  doors  were  opened.  The 
building  was  to  be  ready  in  September,  1873,  in  time  for  the 

HS 


146  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

opening  of  the  regular  season.  This  contract  was  made  at 
the  time  of  the  greatest  inflation  of  prices  after  the  war ; 
namely,  in  the  spring  of  1873.  Mr.  Daly  ordered  from 
Gariboldi,  for  the  decoration  of  the  great  space  above  the 
elliptical  proscenium  arch,  a  reproduction  of  his  "Crown- 
ing of  Comedy"  which  had  embellished  the  ceiling  of  the 
old  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre.  A  crimson  satin  drop  curtain 
—  the  first  of  the  kind  ever  shown  in  a  theatre  —  was  to 
be  one  of  the  surprises  of  the  opening  night.  The  new 
playhouse  was  to  be  called  "The  New  Fifth  Avenue 
Theatre."  It  should  be  noted  that  the  entrance  at  that 
time  was  on  Twenty-eighth  Street. 

Daly  was  active  in  exciting  among  the  literary  Ameri- 
cans of  the  day  the  ambition  to  win  fame  as  playwrights. 
The  first  he  approached  was  Mark  Twain,  who  responded 
modestly  to  repeated  solicitations  : 

"Hartford,  May  4. 
My  dear  Daly, 

One  of  these  days,  somewhere  in  the  future,  I  may  surprise 
and  grieve  you  by  reminding  you  of  that  invitation,  &  propos- 
ing to  revive  it;  but  I  mean  to  have  the  modesty  to  serve  a 
decent  apprenticeship  before  I  make  such  a  lofty  venture. 

I  never  tried  the  stage  before ;  but  by  re-writing  Peter  Spyk, 
I  managed  to  change  the  language  &  the  character  to  a  degree 
that  enabled  me  to  talk  the  one  &  represent  the  other  after  a 
fashion  —  but  I  am  not  equal  to  the  Metropolitan  boards  yet. 

Yrs.  sincerely 

Saml.  L.  Clemens. 
But  mind,  I  thank  you  for  the  compliment  of  the  invitation 
anyway." 

"Elmira,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  14. 
My  dear  Mr.  Daly, 

I  will  hope  that  in  the  course  of  time  I  will  be  so  situated  that 
I  can  make  the  attempt,  but  I  am  debarred  now  by  a  book  con- 
tract which  I   keep  shirking  and  dodging  but  which  I  can't 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  147 

venture  to  shirk  any  longer.  There  is  more  money  in  books 
than  in  plays,  but  still,  when  I  get  the  chance  I  shall  be  cheer- 
fully willing  to  intrude  further  upon  the  dramatic  field. 

Yrs.  truly 

Saml.  L.  Clemens." 

"Farmington  Avenue,  Hartford. 
My  dear  Mr.  Daly,  Oct.  29. 

Although  I  am  not  able  to  write  a  play  now,  there  are  better 
men  that  can.  Would  it  not  be  well  worth  your  while  to  pro- 
voke W.  D.  Howells  of  the  Atlantic  Monthly  into  writing  a 
play?  My  reason  for  making  the  suggestion  is  that  I  think  he 
is  writing  a  play.  I  by  no  means  know  this,  but  I  guess  it  from 
a  remark  dropped  by  an  acquaintance  of  his.  I  know  Howells 
well,  but  he  has  not  confided  anything  of  the  kind  to  me.  Still, 
I  think  if  you  and  Bronson  are  done  with  your  fight  (I  mean  the 
newspaper  one)  it  would  be  a  right  good  thing  to  hurl  another 
candidate  into  the  jaws  of  the  critics. 

I  am  not  meaning  to  intrude  &  hope  I  am  not. 

Yrs.  truly 

Saml.  L.  Clemens." 

When  his  play  of  "Ah  Sin"  was  finally  submitted  to 
Mr.  Daly,  it  needed  more  altering  than  Bronson  Howard's 
first  draft  of  "Saratoga." 

A  brief  note  pencilled  upon  a  post  card  is  characteristic  : 

"7  A.M.  Wedn'dy. 
I  can  only  tender  my  regrets  &  compliments  &  say  I  am  at 
this  moment  leaving  for  that  bourne  from  whence  no  traveler 
returns  when  sober  (Elmira,  N.Y.)     Excuse  haste  &  a  bad  postal 
card.  Yrs.  truly 

S.  L.  Clemens." 

Mr.  Daly  did  venture  in  accordance  with  Mark  Twain's 
suggestion  gently  to  "provoke"  Mr.  Howells  into  writing 
a  play,  and  received  the  following  : 


148  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"Cambridge,  Mass. 
•       Nov.  14,  1874. 
My  dear  Sir  :  — 

Do  not  suppose  from  the  great  deliberation  with  which  I 
answer  your  obliging  letter  that  I  was  not  very  glad  indeed  to 
get  it. 

I  have  long  had  the  notion  of  a  play,  which  I  have  now 
briefly  exposed  to  Mr.  Clemens,  and  which  he  thinks  will  do. 
It's  against  it,  I  suppose,  that  it's  rather  tragical,  but  perhaps 
—  certainly  if  you've  ever  troubled  yourself  with  my  undramatic 
writings,  —  you  know  that  I  can't  deal  exclusively  in  tragedy, 
and  I  think  I  could  make  my  play  in  some  parts  such  a  light 
affair  that  many  people  would  never  know  how  deeply  they 
ought  to  have  been  moved  by  it. 

I  have  also  the  idea  of  a  farce  or  vaudeville  of  strictly  Ameri- 
can circumstances. 

Of  course  I'm  a  very  busy  man,  and  I  must  do  these  plays  in 
moments  of  leisure  from  my  editorial  work.  I'm  well  aware 
that  I  can't  write  a  good  play  by  inspiration,  and  when  I've 
sketched  my  plots  and  done  some  scenes  I  shall,  with  your 
leave,  send  them  for  your  criticism. 

Yours  very  truly, 

W.  D.  Howells." 

Bronson  Howard  was  busily  engaged  with  a  new  theme 
which  was  subsequently  to  take  shape  as  "Moorcroft"  : 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Daly, 

Your  favor  of  the  i8th  with  check  enclosed  ($70)  is  before  me, 
for  which  my  thanks.  I  am  now  at  work  on  the  John  Hay  idea 
play  which  I  spoke  to  you  about  more  than  a  year  ago  —  you 
have  probably  forgotten  it.  I  know  the  story  of  this  will  be 
novel  and  striking.  What  success  I  may  have  in  working  up 
an  essentially  serious  play  remains  to  be  seen ;  my  success  in  the 
case  of  "  Lilian's  Last  Love,"  from  your  standpoint,  was  not, 
certainly,  encouraging.  But  I  am  particularly  anxious  to  have 
at  least  one  successful  serious  play.     I  know  my  forte  is  the 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  149 

other  way,  (as  well  as  my  tastes)  but  it  seems  so  strongly  for 
my  interest  before  the  public  to  lay  aside  the  cap  and  bells  at 
least  once  that  I  shall  make  a  strong  effort.  I  have  found 
society  here  an  allurement  and  an  interference ;  indeed  I  con- 
fess to  having  been  'lazy'  for  several  months  —  the  first  time 
for  many  years. 

I  shall  try  to  work  up  'The  First  of  May'  in  the  rollicking 
fun  way  in  time  for  its  natural  and  proper  season  next  year. 

During  a  recent  visit  to  Chicago,  by  the  way,  I  met  Bartley 
Campbell.  Have  you  seen  any  of  his  plays  .^  'Peril'  and 
'Fate'  I  am  told  are  good.  His  'Risks,'  recently  produced, 
which  I  saw,  was  hastily  constructed  but  showed  signs  of 
excellent  ingenuity  in  the  way  of  plot  —  the  direction  in  which 
I  feel  a  desert-like  barrenness  sometimes.  I  feel  you  could 
use  Campbell  to  good  advantage  with  some  of  your  attention  — 
such  as  you  have  given  to  me.  How  he  would  be  in  working 
up  details  I  cannot  say ;  but  if  he  comes  in  your  way  I  think  it 
will  pay  you  to  give  him  attention  and  encouragement. 

As  soon  as  I  can  get  my  present  work  into  an  understand- 
able form  you  shall  see  it,  of  course. 

Your  sincere  friend 
Bronson  C.  Howard. 
Detroit,  June  20,  1873." 

M.  Villa  of  the  Courier  des  Etats  Unis,  an  enthusiastic 
admirer  of  Mr.  Daly's  adaptations  from  the  French, 
called  his  attention  to  the  "Monsieur  Alphonse"  of  Alex- 
ander Dumas  fils,  which  had  just  made  the  greatest 
success  in  twenty  years  at  the  Paris  Gymnase,  the  theatre 
of  emotional  modern  dramas ;  and  Augustin  secured  it 
through  the  agency  of  Mrs.  Olive  Logan  Sikes.  He  con- 
sulted Mr.  James  R.  Osgood  of  Boston  on  the  subject  of 
an  opening  address  to  be  written  by  either  John  G. 
Whittier  or  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes.  Acting  upon  the 
suggestion  of  Mr.  Osgood,  the  task  was  proposed  to  Dr. 
Holmes.     His  letters  will  be  found  interesting : 


ISO  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

My  dear  Sir,  "  ^°st°"'  Nov.  3d,  1873. 

I  should  like  to  have  a  day  or  two  to  think  of  your  polite 
proposition.  On  Wednesday  of  this  week  I  think  I  can  send  you 
my  answer,  which  I  hope  will  be  in  season  whether  it  is  affirma- 
tive or  the  contrary.  Very  truly  yours, 

O.  W.  Holmes." 

My  dear  Sir,  "  Boston  Nov.  5th,  1873. 

I  have  been  writing  at  an  Address  or  Prologue  at  such  inter- 
vals as  I  could  command  and  have  finished  just  fifty  lines,  which 
must  grow  to  nearer  a  hundred  before  the  poem  will  properly 
finish  itself.  I  hope  by  the  end  of  this  week  to  mail  you  the 
first  draught.  I  think  it  would  be  well  for  you  to  send  me  a 
few  words  either  of  local  allusion  or  in  some  way  indicating  a 
point  or  two  that  might  be  adapted  to  your  audience.  I  do 
not  know  that  you  have  fixed  on  the  play  for  the  evening,  but 
if  you  have  I  should  like  well  enough  to  know  what  it  is.  In 
fact  any  little  hint  with  local  character  might  prove  useful, 
though  of  course  I  can  get  along  without  it. 

Mr.  Osgood  thinks  that  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  would 
be  a  fair  honorarium  for  my  performance,  to  which  I  should 
add  if  it  suits  you,  otherwise  nothing,  and  quite  welcome  to 
my  attempt  to  please  you.  yQ^j.3  ^^^^  ^^^j^ 

O.  W.  Holmes." 

My  dear  Sir,  "Boston,  Nov.  7th,  1873. 

I  send  you  the  draught  I  promised.  If  it  pleases  you  I  shall 
be  gratified  —  if  you  have  any  suggestions  to  make  I  shall  be 
happy  to  receive  and  consider  them. 

I  never  let  anything  go  before  the  public  without  correcting 
the  printed  proof  myself.  If  you  like  the  poem  and  will  send  me 
the  manuscript  back  for  any  alterations,  I  will,  if  you  wish, 
have  a  copy  or  two  privately  printed  by  a  printer  who  is  quite 
safe,  and  send  it  to  you  in  that  authentic  form. 

I  should  be  glad  to  hear  from  you  as  soon  as  it  is  convenient. 

Yours  very  truly, 
O.  W.  Holmes." 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  151 

"296  Beacon  St.,  Boston. 
Nov.  13  th,  1873. 
My  dear  Sir, 

I  am  glad  you  are  pleased  with  the  Prologue.  I  shall  avail 
myself  of  your  hints  in  certain  additions  made  and  making,  and 
send  you  the  new  draught  this  week  or  next  as  soon  as  it  is 
ready. 

Yours  very  truly. 
O.  W.  Holmes. 

I  am  so  busy  with  my  lectures  at  the  College  that  I  am 
afraid  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  come  on  to  New  York." 

"Boston,  Nov.  21st,  1873. 
My  dear  Sir, 

I  send  you  No.  2  of  my  privately  printed  copies  of  the  address 
as  I  have  completed  it,  taking  advantage  of  your  hints.  I 
hope  it  will  please  you. 

It  aspires  to  something  more  than  the  dignity  of  a  Prologue ; 
it  is  longer  and  more  elaborate,  as  seems  fitting  for  so  important 
an  occasion.     I  should  therefore  call  it  An  Address. 

If  this  suits  you,  as  I  hope  and  trust  that  it  may,  I  will  send 
you  some  additional  copies  to  be  distributed  at  the  proper  time 
after  its  delivery,  or  if  you  choose,  just  before,  in  time  for  the 
next  issue  if  any  of  those  wish  to  print  it.  Please  tell  me  if 
you  would  like  half  a  dozen  more. 

No  person  has  seen  or  heard  one  word  of  this  address,  not 
even  a  member  of  my  own  family,  except  myself,  the  printer 
and  any  to  whom  you  may  have  shown  it.  The  types  were 
at  once  distributed  and  all  vestiges  of  it  at  the  office  destroyed 
by  my  own  confidential  printer. 

I  am,  my  dear  sir. 

Yours  very  truly 
O.  W.  Holmes. 

I  hope  you  will  let  me  know  if  this  amended  copy  is  to 
your  mind." 


152  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"Boston,  Nov.  24th,  1873. 
Dear  Mr.  Daly 

I  have  just  received  your  note  containing  the  cheque,  for 
which  please  accept  my  acknowledgments.  I  am  very  glad 
that  the  address  pleases  you.  I  meant  that  it  should  if  I  could 
make  it  do  so. 

You  will  see  that  I  have  made  two  light  corrections.  The 
semi-colon  after  'violin'  on  the  third  page  should  be  a  comma, 
and  I  have  made  it  so  by  erasing  the  dot. 

On  the  last  page  I  changed  'climbing'  to  'creeping'  because 
it  is  not  correct  to  speak  of  climbing  up  and  down.  One  can- 
not climb  down.  Will  you  have  the  kindness  to  make  these 
alterations  in  the  copy  I  have  already  sent  you. 

It  strikes  me  that  the  place  for  lifting  the  curtain  will  be  just 
as  the  lines 

'The  crash  is  o'er,  the  crinkling  curtain  furled, 
And  lo !  the  glories  of  that  brighter  world  !' 

are  being  delivered.  My  idea  would  be  that  as  the  word 
crinkling  is  uttering  the  curtain  should  begin  to  crinkle  and  then 
slowly  rise,  and  show  the  scene,  whatever  that  may  be.  The 
members  of  the  Company  might  be  there,  or  make  their  ap- 
pearance at  the  line  — 

'There  are  the  wizards,'  etc. 

I  give  you  my  inexperienced  idea  of  the  matter,  but  of  course 
you  know  a  thousand  times  better  than  I  do. 

I  am  disposed  to  think  that  it  is  quite  as  important  that  the 
Address  should  read  well  in  the  papers  for  the  great  outside 
public  as  speak  well  for  those  who  are  in  the  house  to  hear  it. 
I  have  tried  to  give  it  that  finish  in  its  execution  which  will  fit 
it  for  careful  and  even  critical  reading.  Whether  I  have  suc- 
ceeded, others  will  have  to  decide.  With  my  best  hopes  for 
your  success  in  your  spirited  enterprise 

I  am,  my  dear  Sir 

Yours  very  truly 
O.  W.  Holmes." 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  153 

The  splendid  company  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre 
was  kept  together  in  active  practice  through  a  period  of 
delay  in  the  completion  of  the  new  house  caused  by  the 
financial  panic  already  mentioned,  the  worst  ever  expe- 
rienced in  the  United  States,  which  occurred  in  September, 
1873,  and  which  interfered  with  every  building  operation. 
The  expense  of  maintaining  his  company  for  a  period  of 
three  months  was  met  by  making  a  series  of  out-of-town 
engagements.  Nothing  was  to  be  expected  from  the  Grand 
Opera  House  nor  from  728  Broadway,  now  called  "The 
Broadway  Theatre."  "A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream," 
gorgeously  produced  at  the  former,  wilted  away  under  mid- 
summer day  heat ;  and  the  little  house,  after  doing  a  roar- 
ing business  for  a  few  weeks  with  Mdlle.  Aimee  and  "La 
Fille  de  Madame  Angot,"  became  a  pitiful  burden  on  the 
manager's  shoulders.  To  add  to  his  difficulties,  Miss  Clara 
Morris  left  the  company  while  it  was  on  tour,  and  en- 
gaged to  play  at  the  Union  Square  Theatre  when  his  new 
house  opened.  She  had  been  regularly  with  the  com- 
pany in  its  brief  visits  out  of  town,  and  played  in  the 
famous  repertoire  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  :  "Divorce," 
"Fernande,"  "New  Year's  Eve,"  "Alixe,"  and  "Frou- 
Frou."  The  tour  opened  in  each  city  with  "Divorce," 
as  it  had  been  written  expressly  to  display  the  talent  of 
all  the  members  of  the  company,  and  therefore  served  as 
the  best  introduction  of  the  famous  organization  to  new 
audiences.  In  Cincinnati,  it  happened  that  the  comedy 
scenes  elicited  more  applause  than  the  serious  and  emo- 
tional parts,  and  Miss  Morris  gave  notice  of  an  intention 
not  to  appear  again  in  "Divorce"  as  the  opening  play. 
Her  contract  for  the  current  season  was  to  play  three 
months  from  September  i  to  November  30,  and  for  four 
months  in  the  ensuing  spring.  In  the  interval  she  was  free 
to  make  starring  engagements  ;  but  it  was  expressly  stipu- 


154  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

lated  that  she  was  not  to  play  at  any  other  theatre  than 
Mr.  Daly's  in  New  York  from  the  date  of  the  contract 
until  its  termination,  without  his  consent.  Before  her 
first  three  months  were  up  Miss  Morris  retired  from  the 
company ;  and  about  a  fortnight  before  Mr.  Daly  opened 
his  new  theatre,  she  was  announced  to  appear  with  Shook 
&  Palmer  at  the  Union  Square. 

Mr.  Daly  was  privately  much  affected  by  the  thought 
that  the  ability  which  he  had  fostered  and  developed 
should  fail  him  at  this  critical  period,  but  he  took  no  steps 
to  enforce  his  contract.  He  had  been  grieved  the  year 
before  by  Miss  Ethel's  going  to  the  same  house  (though 
after  her  contract  with  him  had  expired)  and  helping  to 
establish  his  rival.  Such  defections  never  failed  to  wound 
him,  and  that  is  why  he  has  extolled  so  often  in  his  writ- 
ings loyalty  of  players  to  managers.  It  is  a  question 
whether  the  gift  which  he  possessed  for  discovering  and 
developing  unsuspected  talent  for  the  stage  did  not  re- 
quire for  its  exercise  such  trials  as  now  occurred ;  and 
whether  the  temporary  loss  he  sustained  might  not  be  a 
very  decided  gain  to  the  public,  which  loves  better  to  wel- 
come new  candidates  for  its  favor  than  consistently  to  sup- 
port the  old.  It  is  quite  in  harmony  with  this  view  that 
we  find  the  ambitious  desiring  to  go  out  and  reap  the  whole 
harvest  of  their  talent  for  themselves  without  particular 
regard  for  the  toil  of  the  sower.  In  the  field  of  labor  called 
the  stage,  the  harvest  time  is  short,  and  there  are  some- 
times long  droughts,  even  in  the  season  of  popular  favor. 

It  was  during  this  period  of  hard  work  and  heavy  re- 
sponsibilities that  my  brother's  second  boy  was  born, 
whom  he  named  after  us  both,  —  Francis  Augustin. 

it:  *****  * 

"Excellent  music  by  Mr.  Dodworth's  band  was  the 
prelude.     Miss    Fanny    Morant    then    came    before    the 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  155 

curtain  and  spoke  the  first  half  of  an  original  address  by 
Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes.     At  a  certain  point  the  cur- 
tain parted,  disclosing  the  entire  company  ranged  upon 
the  stage,   and  Mr.   Daly  came  forward   and  bowed   in 
acknowledgment  of  the  vociferous  calls  and  the  hearty 
public  plaudits.     The  other  half  of  Dr.  Holmes'  address 
was  then  spoken  —  and  that  with  excellent  spirit  and  dis- 
cretion by  Mr.  Frank  Hardenbergh.     The  assembled  com- 
pany, a  noble  and  interesting  group,  received  emphatic 
recognition     and     welcome.     There     were     twenty-eight 
persons    on    the    stage."     Thus,    the    foremost    dramatic 
critic  of  the  day  described  the  opening  of  the  new  theatre 
on  Thursday,  December  3,  1873.      Dr.  Holmes'  address 
was  printed  in  all  the  leading  daily  newspapers,  and  is  to 
be  found  in  the  edition  of  his  complete  works,  under  the 
title  "Address  for  the  opening  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre, 
New  York,  December  3,  1873." 

The  opening  address  was  the  best  feature  of  the  night 
(except  the  faces  on  the  stage),  for  the  new  play  "For- 
tune," written  expressly  for  the  occasion  by  Albery,  was 
disappointing  to  the  last  degree.     This  was  utterly  un- 
expected, and  Daly  now  experienced,  for  the  first  time  in 
his   career,    disappointment  on    the   opening   night  of  a 
season.     His  regret  was  all  the  greater  as  he  had  chosen 
my  birthday  for  the  inauguration  of  his  new  enterprise. 
His  physical  labors  for  forty-eight  hours  in  preparing  for 
the  opening  were  so  exhausting  that  he  fell  asleep  for  a 
moment  behind  the  scenes  during  a  part  of  the  performance. 
However,  before  the  play  was  over,  he  posted  a  notice 
calling  his  company  for  rehearsals  of  several  old  and  recent 
favorites:    "Old  Heads    and   Young    Hearts,"  "London 
Assurance,"  "New  Year's  Eve,"  and  "Alixe";    and  the 
succeeding  week  saw  them  all  performed.     In   "Alixe" 
Miss  Jewett  took  Miss  Morris'  part. 


156  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

It  is  probable  that  no  other  manager  in  the  world  has 
withdrawn  so  promptly  pieces  that  failed  to  receive  favor 
on  a  first  performance.  Theatrical  records  furnish  innu- 
merable instances  of  such  failures  converted  into  lasting 
successes.  Beaumarchais'  "Barber  of  Seville,"  pro- 
duced a  hundred  years  before,  is  a  notable  instance.  The 
opening  representation  was  hissed,  the  second  rapturously 
applauded.  To  be  sure  the  work  was  overhauled,  cut 
and  patched  to  cure  its  defects,  but  even  then  Madame 
du  DefFand  thought  it  detestable.  The  instinct  of  most 
managers  who  have  spent  labor  and  money  upon  a  play 
is  to  persist  in  the  conviction  that  it  is  worthy  of  the  ex- 
penditure and  that  the  public  will  ultimately  come  to  its 
senses  with  regard  to  it.  In  England  it  has  not  been  un- 
common to  see  a  play  which  has  languished  for  several 
weeks  suddenly  begin  to  flourish,  and  at  last  outlive  the 
most  hopeful  anticipation.  There  it  is  considered  that  the 
small  percentage  of  patrons  of  the  stage  gathered  on  a  first 
night  (including  the  blase  and  jaded  habitues  of  such  occa- 
sions) do  not  fairly  represent  the  whole  theatrical  public. 
Daly  was  not  content  to  wait  for  the  merits  of  his  produc- 
tions to  circulate  slowly  in  the  community. 

Within  two  weeks  after  the  unfortunate  production  of 
"Fortune,"  a  new  play  from  Paris,  "The  Parricide,"  was 
rehearsed  and  produced.  This  play  had  for  theme  one 
of  those  problems  which  absorb  the  readers  of  Gaboriau, 
du  Boisgobey,  and  Conan  Doyle.  The  murder  of  an 
elderly  wealthy  woman  by  a  mysterious  criminal  is  laid 
at  the  door  first  of  her  companion,  an  innocent  young 
girl,  and  then  of  her  son,  a  harmless  viveur  of  the  Parisian 
type.  It  was  produced  on  December  17  with  Fisher, 
Hardenbergh,  Louis  James,  George  Clarke,  Sara  Jewett, 
Marianne  Conway,  Nina  Varian,  Mrs.  Gilbert,  and  Miss 
Morant. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  157 

But  the  event  which  Mr.  Daly  had  in  reserve  for  the 
season  was  the  debut  of  Miss  Ada  Dyas,  who  now  ar- 
rived from  England.  Her  engagement  was  made  upon 
competent  opinion  that  she  was  a  "thoroughly  trained 
leading  actress  of  the  best  school."  Wyndham  thought 
so  highly  of  her  that  he  intended  to  bring  her  to  America 
with  a  company.  She  added  the  distinction  of  good 
breeding  and  careful  education  to  youth  and  a  handsome 
and  refined  face  and  figure.  She  instantly  won  the  favor 
of  a  very  critical  audience  assembled  at  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Theatre,  as  Anne  Sylvester  in  a  revival  of  "Man  and  Wife" 
on  January  3,  1874.  Anne  Sylvester,  portrayed  by  Miss 
Morris  as  a  passionate,  emotional  creature,  was  now 
represented  as  a  woman  of  not  less  intense  feeling,  whose 
wrongs  burned  through  a  surface  of  womanly  dignity  and 
calm.  She  next  appeared  as  the  young  married  heroine 
of  Sardou's  recent  Parisian  success  "La  Maison  Neuve, " 
a  satire  upon  young  France  breaking  away  from  tradi- 
tions in  domestic  and  business  life;  the  changing  of  the 
shop  into  the  "Emporium"  and  the  old-fashioned  flat 
into  the  gorgeous  apartment.  Under  the  name  of  "Fol- 
line,"  the  new  play  was  given  on  January  27,  1874,  with 
Miss  Dyas  in  the  title  role. 

A  Shakespearian  revival,  the  invariable  feature  of  every 
Daly  season,  occurred  on  February  21.  It  was  "Love's 
Labour's  Lost,"  and  was  presented  with  an  extraordinary 
list  of  performers.  It  was  as  great  a  novelty  as  any  new 
play,  for  it  had  never  before  been  seen  by  a  New  York 
audience,  as  we  are  informed  by  Richard  Grant  White 
and  Joseph  N.  Ireland  : 

"118  East  loth  Street 
My  dear  Sir  F^^^^-  ^Sth,  1878. 

I  never  heard  or  read  of  Love's  Labour's  Lost  having  been 
performed  in  New  York.     My  own  reminiscences  of  the  Park 


158  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Theatre  &  indeed  of  any  theatre,  date  only  from  1845;  but 
since  that  time  I  am  sure  the  play  has  never  been  performed 
here,  &  indeed  I  have  never  heard  of  its  having  been  performed 
anywhere  within  the  memory  of  living  men,  which  does  not 
surprise  me,  considering  the  structure  &  dramatic  motive  of 
the  play. 

I  thank  you  for  your  proffered  compliment  of  a  box  on  the 
first  evening  &  shall  hold  myself  disengaged. 

With  sincere  wishes  for  your  success  on  this  occasion  &  all 
others 

I  am  dear  Sir 

Yours  very  truly, 

Richd.  Grant  White. 
Augustin  Daly  Esqr." 

Mr.  Joseph  N.  Ireland,  compiler  of  the  authoritative 
"Records  of  the  New  York  Stage,"  was  positive  that  New 
York  had  never  witnessed  "Love's  Labour's  Lost."  It  was 
a  delight  to  Daly  to  make  his  generation  acquainted  with 
anything  that  was  rare  in  the  Shakespearian  drama. 
There  was  of  course  no  hope  of  profit  in  the  costly  produc- 
tion of  a  work  which  had  not  tempted  even  Burton  or 
Wallack.     It  was  indeed  a  labor  of  love  —  not  wholly  lost. 

Miss  Ada  Dyas  was  The  Princess  of  France,  Miss  Fanny 
Davenport  Rosaline,  Miss  Sara  Jewett  Maria,  Miss  Nina 
Varian  Katharine,  Miss  Nellie  Mortimer  Jaquenetta,  Miss 
Stella  Congdon  Moth,  Davidge  Holofernes,  Fisher  Don 
Adriano  de  Armado,  Harkins  King  of  Navarre,  Clarke 
Biron,  Louis  James  Longaville,  Hart  Conway  Dumain, 
Hardenbergh  Boyet,  De  Veau  Mercade,  Whitney  Sir  Na- 
thaniel, Chapman  A  Forester,  J.  G.  Peakes  Hiems,  Gilbert 
and  Beekman  Lords,  James  Lewis  Costard,  and  Owen 
Fawcett  Dull. 

The  lively  Oakey  Hall  took  it  for  granted  that  when 
his  intelligent  friend  Daly  deliberately  brought  out  a  play 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  159 

there  must  be  something  interesting  in  it,  and  spent  an  hour 
or  two  reading  "Love's  Labour's  Lost "  (as  nearly  everybody 
did  when  it  was  announced)  for  the  purpose  of  becoming 
familiar  enough  with  the  lines  to  enjoy  the  representation. 
The  result  in  Mr.  Hall's  case  was  a  pencilled  note  : 

"Dear  A. 

.  .  I  read  myself  stupid  over  L.  L.  Lost.  Read  it  in  3  originals 
by  aid  of  illustrations  &  notes,  etc.  A  series  of  fine  poetical 
readings,  but  won't  you  dress  it  up  and  write  in  some  plot  and 
fun  and  introduce  three  or  four  Charaktorrs !  Adapt  Shake, 
by  all  means  &  provide  beds  in  the  boxes. 

Yours 

O.  K. 

This  is  Sarkasm !" 

There  were  two  important  pieces  of  the  modern  school 
which  Mr.  Daly  had  acquired  for  the  present  season,  and 
which  were  to  be  produced  in  quick  succession.  One  was 
"Charity,"  a  serious  comedy  by  W.  S.  Gilbert,  and  the 
other  "Monsieur  Alphonse,"  the  work  of  Alexander 
Dumas  fils. 

"Charity"  was  produced  March  3,  1874,  with  a  cloud 
upon  it,  cast  by  the  unfavorable  criticisms  of  the  London 
press,  which  variously  termed  it  "blurred  and  indefinite 
m  results,"  "unsatisfactory  and  unpleasant,"  "tedious 
and  morbid."  Its  presentation  by  Daly's  Company 
showed  it  to  be  an  absorbing  play,  growing  in  interest  and 
power  from  scene  to  scene  and  act  to  act.  Miss  Dyas 
was  Mrs.  Van  Brugh,  Miss  Davenport  Ruth  Tredgett,  Miss 
Jewett  Eve,  Miss  Griffiths  Caroline,  Harkins  Ted,  H^rden- 
bergh  Smailey,  Clarke  Fred,  Lewis  Fitzpartington,  Davidge 
Skinner,  and  Chapman  Butler.  Every  actor  of  a  principal 
part  made  an  individual  hit;  but  the  appearance  of  Miss 
Fanny  Davenport,  hitherto  the  representative  of  fashion, 


i6o  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

beauty,  and  comedy,  in  the  rags  of  Ruth  Tredgett,  with 
matted,  straggling  hair  and  furtive,  hunted  eyes,  acted 
upon  the  audience  hke  an  electric  shock.  As  if  recognizing 
immediately  her  true  dramatic  instincts  and  feeling  the 
promise  of  power  to  come,  they  broke  into  the  wildest 
welcome ;  and  then  watched  with  eagerness  through  the 
play  the  truth  with  which  she  struck  every  note  of  the 
character.  The  play  ran  for  six  weeks  to  most  appre- 
ciative spectators  after  its  production  on  March  12,  1874. 
It  was  then  still  running  in  England  at  the  Haymarket. 

"Monsieur  Alphonse"  succeeded  "Charity,"  and  was 
presented  on  April  14,  1874,  by  the  same  principals,  sup- 
plemented by  a  remarkable  little  girl.  Bijou  Heron,  the 
only  child  of  the  once  famous  Matilda  Heron  and  the 
composer  Stoepel.  Mrs.  Stoepel  had  at  this  time  given 
up  the  stage  and  lost  all  her  pupils,  and  had  reached  a 
stage  of  dejection  which  is  distressingly  set  forth  in  the 
letters  of  her  friends.  In  "Bijou"  (Helene  Stoepel),  how- 
ever, she  possessed  a  veritable  treasure,  whose  grace  and 
intelligence  the  new  play  introduced  to  audiences  which 
still  remembered  her  mother's  notable  debut  sixteen  years 
before,  "Monsieur  Alphonse"  was  played  forty-six 
times. 

The  final  novelty  of  the  season  (after  a  brief  revival  of 
"Divorce"  with  Miss  Dyas  as  Fanny  Ten  Eyck)  was  a 
dramatization  of  "Oliver  Twist"  with  Bijou  Heron  as  the 
innocent  Oliver,  Miss  Davenport  as  the  tragic  Nancy, 
Davidge  as  Bumble,  Fisher  as  Fagin,  James  Lewis  as  The 
Artful  Dodger,  and  Louis  James  in  the  most  realistic 
delineation  of  the  rufhan  Bill  Sykes  ever  as  yet  seen  on  the 
New  York  stage,  although  it  had  witnessed  many  forceful 
impersonations  of  that  forbidding  character. 

The  theatre  closed  on  June  6,  1874,  and  the  company 
went  out  for  a  tour  lasting  until  July  4.     It  had  played 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  i6i 

continuously  forty-four  weeks.  Against  what  siege  of 
troubles  the  manager  had  had  to  take  up  arms  during  that 
period  has  been  already  stated.  The  season  began  in  a 
time  of  appalling  financial  distress,  involved  great  finan- 
cial burdens,  was  seriously  threatened  by  desertions  from 
his  company,  was  disappointing  in  its  opening,  and  yet 
witnessed  some  of  his  most  striking  managerial  successes. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

Daly  contracts  his  activities.  Closes  out  the  Broadway  Theatre  on 
terms.  Will  continue  the  Grand  Opera  House  with  Fox.  Fox 
deserts  the  Opera  House  and  opens  the  Broadway.  Daly  closes 
out  the  Opera  House  on  terms.  Account  of  the  two  theatres  after- 
wards. Harrigan  and  Hart  build  the  Theatre  Comique  on  Broad- 
way. Their  peculiar  plays  described.  Poole  and  Donnelly  make 
a  cheap  and  popular  theatre  of  the  Grand  Opera  House.  Daly 
helps  Davenport  in  Philadelphia.  Theatre  in  Albany.  Miss 
Fanny  Morant  deserts  to  the  Union  Square.  Miss  Emily  Rigl 
joins  Daly's.  Sol  Smith  Russell.  Miss  Anna  Dickinson.  Miss 
Kate  Field.  Engagement  offered  the  Kendalls.  Season  of 
1874-1875.  "What  Should  She  Do?  Or  Jealousy."  "The  Fast 
Family"  a  great  hit.  Daly's  strong  company.  His  leading 
women.  Weakness  of  Wallack's.  Montague  imported.  J.  L. 
Toole  brought  over,  and  a  failure.  Wallack's  opinion  of  the 
powerful  competition.  Shook  &  Palmer,  and  their  disappoint- 
ment with  "The  Sphynx."  Daly  needs  plays.  Bret  Harte  to 
be  assisted  by  Boucicault.  The  latter's  conference  with  Daly. 
Asks  advice  about  "The  Shaughraun."  Doesn't  think  much 
of  "The  Two  Orphans."  Will  collaborate  with  Bret  Harte. 
His  cast  raisonnee  for  "  Kentuck."  Miss  Ada  Dyas  goes.  Daly 
puts  on  "The  School  for  Scandal"  with  Miss  Davenport  as 
Lady  Teazle  and  makes  a  hit.  Excellent  acting  of  James,  Clarke, 
and  Fisher.  "The  Hanging  of  the  Crane"  and  "The  Critic"  not 
popular.  Howard's  "Moorcroft"  a  failure.  Attacks  on  the  press 
by  the  author,  "The  School  for  Scandal"  revived.  Clarke 
deserts  in  the  middle  of  the  performance. 

Early  this  year,  1874,  Daly  became  satisfied  that  his 
theories  of  management  could  not  be  operated  in  several 
theatres.  It  was  utterly  distasteful  to  him  to  be  what 
he  called  a  "janitor  manager,"  opening  the  door  for  inde- 
pendent troupes  and  locking  it  after  each  disappeared. 
He  closed  the  "Broadway"  and  began  negotiations  with 
A.  T.  Stewart's  agent  for  the  relinquishment  of  the  re- 

162 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  163 

maining  year  of  the  lease.  Mr.  Stewart's  agent  quite 
readily  entertained  a  proposition  to  take  over  the  theatre 
with  all  its  improvements  and  to  take  indorsed  notes  for 
the  rent  in  arrears.  The  Grand  Opera  House  remained. 
There  was  some  attractiveness  about  getting  up  great 
productions  there,  and,  with  Fox  as  a  feature  in  pantomime 
and  spectacle,  some  hope  of  profit.  But  suddenly  that 
popular  comedian  terminated  his  long  engagement  with 
his  old  friend  Mr.  Duff,  and  consequently  with  Mr.  Daly, 
and  withdrew  from  the  Grand  Opera  House. 

His  purpose  was  quite  a  mystery  until  it  was  shortly 
after  advertised  that  he  was  to  take  the  theatre  which  Mr. 
Daly  had  just  given  up,  and  which  was  now  to  be  called 
"Fox's  Broadway  Theatre."  The  smoothness  of  the  late 
negotiations  was  now  explained. 

The  loss  of  Fox  closed  any  outlook  for  the  Grand  Opera 
House,  and  the  obvious  policy  was  to  get  out  of  an  under- 
taking of  which  this  last  desertion  had  made  Augustin 
heartily  sick.  So  far,  there  had  been  sunk  in  the  enter- 
prise a  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars,  including  the 
fifteen  thousand  paid  as  bonus  or  premium  for  the  lease, 
and  the  cost  of  the  improvements.  The  proprietors  of 
the  property,  The  Erie  Railway  Company,  under  the  new 
management  which  succeeded  the  extraordinary  admin- 
istration of  James  Fisk,  Jr.,  consented  to  a  surrender  of  the 
remainder  of  the  term  if  the  lessee  also  surrendered  the 
scenery  and  properties  and  gave  indorsed  notes  for  the 
rent  due.     This  arrangement  was  carried  out. 

It  is  instructive  to  glance  at  the  subsequent  history 
of  the  two  theatres  which  Daly  could  not  make  profitable. 
In  less  than  six  weeks  Fox  failed  at  the  Broadway  and 
retired,  defeated,  from  his  venture.  He  had  been  for  years 
receiving  a  salary  of  ^400  a  week  from  Mr.  DuflF,  but  had 
recently   conceived    the   idea    that   he   had   been   slaving 


l64  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

while  his  manager  was  reposing  upon  a  bed  of  roses,  and 
that  it  was  now  time  for  the  toiler  to  gather  a  fortune  for 
himself  instead  of  rolling  it  up  for  others.  The  result  was 
not  uncommon ;  he  found  that  the  art  of  acting  and  the 
art  of  management  are  utterly  different  gifts. 

After  Fox's  failure  the  unfortunate  theatre  passed 
through  sixteen  different  managements  in  five  years  with 
long  intervals  of  darkness.  Then  Harrigan  and  Hart, 
two  well-known  variety  actors,  leased  the  ground,  demol- 
ished the  old  church,  and  built  a  very  handsome  "New 
Theatre  Comique,"  in  which  for  three  years  they  produced 
with  varying  success  Mr.  Harrigan's  peculiar  plays  ;  but 
as  Christmas  1884  was  approaching  the  theatre  was 
burned  to  the  ground.     It  was  never  rebuilt. 

The  Harrigan  plays  had  neither  plot  nor  coherence,  but 
they  drew  audiences  which  seemed  to  spring  from  the 
ground.  Irish  and  negro  life  in  the  congested  districts, 
with  their  convivial  meetings,  weddings,  excursions, 
feuds,  and  frolics,  to  which  the  simple  German  element 
(designated  as  "the  Dutch")  contributed  their  part, 
were  the  stock  attractions,  repeated  over  and  over  again 
under  different  names.  Harrigan  was  usually  the  pros- 
perous saloon  keeper,  conservative  and  sententious.  Hart 
was  at  his  best  in  petticoats  as  a  wholesome  kitchen-maid 
of  sunny  disposition.  Two  types  of  Hibernians  were 
the  roystering,  reckless  laborer  on  the  "big  pipes,"  and 
the  parsimonious  shopkeeper.  In  the  negro  quarter  one 
saw  with  what  solemnity  the  African  took  his  amusements, 
and  with  what  suddenness  he  passed  from  peace  to  war 
and  developed  unexpected  social  accomplishments  with 
the  razor.  Nothing  was  extenuated  or  softened.  At  the 
steamboat  dock  the  young  street  tough,  with  his  equally 
tough  slip  of  a  girl,  both  well  known  to  the  ticket  seller, 
approaches   and    tenders    a    five-dollar   bill.      The   latter 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  165 

gazes  at  it  suspiciously  and  inquires,  "Does  your  father 
know  you've  got  this?"  "Naw,"  is  the  reply,  "he 
thinks  my  brother  took  it."  And  the  couple  pass  on  to 
a  day  of  pastoral  enjoyment. 

The  problem  of  making  the  huge  Grand  Opera  House 
successful  was  also  solved  when  a  local  patronage  was 
created  ;  but  this  was  not  until  the  house  had  had  a  check- 
ered career  under  eight  different  managements  and  long 
intervals  of  abandonment.  Then  two  men,  Poole  and 
Donnelly,  opened  the  magnificent  structure  as  a  place  of 
cheap  amusement.  They  reduced  the  price  of  admission 
more  than  one-half ;  and  whereas  former  managers  were 
unable  to  make  both  ends  meet  with  a  rent  of  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars,  the  new  lessees  could  ultimately  stand 
an  enormous  rental  of  fifty  thousand  dollars.  The  dis- 
tinguished companies  of  Wallack's,  the  Union  Square,  and 
the  Fifth  Avenue  frequently  began  or  ended  a  fall  or 
spring  tour  with  an  engagement  of  one  or  two  weeks  at 
the  Grand  Opera  House,  the  art-loving  populace  of  the 
West  Side  waiting  patiently  until  the  atti  actions  of  the 
costlier  theatres  could  be  witnessed  from  fifty-cent  fau- 
teuils.  It  may  be  mentioned,  in  connection  with  Mr.  Daly's 
wise  determination  to  concentrate  his  efforts  upon  one 
theatre,  that  he  had  for  a  little  while  helped  Mr.  F.  L. 
Davenport's  management  in  Philadelphia,  and  had  even 
assisted  an  Albany  theatre  venture,  but  had  declined  an 
offer  to  manage  a  new  opera  house  in  Newark. 

After  the  first  season  at  the  new  theatre  Miss  Morant 
also  went  over  to  the  Union  Square.  Before  the  season 
ended  she  had  written  to  Mr.  Daly  : 

"Since  you  have  given  the  Madame  Valorys  ('Mothers 
with  grown-up  daughters')  to  your  leading  Juvenile  Lady  and 
the  heavy  character  parts  to  your  Comedy  Lady  I  see  nothing 
for  me  in  the  future  but  discontent  and  discomfort." 


1 66  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

The  allusions  were,  first  to  casting  Miss  Dyas  in  the  parts 
of  Mrs.  Van  Brugh  in  "  Charity  "  and  Raymonde  in  "Mon- 
sieur Alphonse,"  and  next  to  giving  Miss  Davenport  the 
roles  of  Ruth  Tredgett  and  Mme.  Guichard.  Miss  Morant 
broke  her  contract  and  joined  the  forces  of  Shook  & 
Palmer.  An  action  was  instituted  by  Mr.  Daly  against 
Miss  Morant  in  the  Superior  Court  in  order  to  confirm 
the  right  to  enjoin  actors  under  contract  with  one  manager 
from  transferring  their  services  to  another.  He  obtained 
an  injunction,  which,  however,  he  immediately  waived ; 
and  he  permitted  Miss  Morant  to  play  in  the  rival  estab- 
lishment. It  may  be  noticed  here  that  Miss  Kate  Claxton 
had  joined  the  forces  there  the  preceding  season,  and  so 
had  George  Parkes  a  year  before.  Miss  Morant  was 
therefore  the  sixth  graduate  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre 
to  adorn  the  boards  of  the  Union  Square. 

Two  new  names  appeared  on  the  company  roll  for  the 
season  of  1874-1875.  Sol  Smith  Russell  had  been  for 
some  years  a  monologue  entertainer  whose  imitation 
(among  others)  of  the  European  lecturer  Gough  was  a  neat 
bit  of  mimicry ;  he  now  gratified  a  desire  to  have  a  regular 
dramatic  training.  And  theatregoers  who  remembered 
the  ballet  of  the  "Black  Crook"  and  the  front  row  of 
pretty  juvenile  coryphees  were  agreeably  surprised  to  learn 
that  one  of  them,  Miss  Emily  Rigl,  had  been  studying  for 
the  English  stage  and  was  to  appear  this  season  at  Daly's. 
Her  sister,  the  premiere  danseuse  Betty  Rigl,  who  divided 
with  Mdlles.  Bonfanti  and  Sangalli  the  honors  of  that 
famous  production,  had,  like  so  many  of  the  troupe,  be- 
come a  permanent  resident  of  the  United  States.  Emily 
had  been  seen  infrequently  with  her  sister  in  ballet,  but 
of  late  had  been  devoting  herself  to  her  new  ambition, 
which  intelligence,  personal  charm,  and  aptitude  fully 
justified. 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  167 

About  this  time  the  idea  of  embracing  the  theatrical 
profession  was  entertained  by  the  distinguished  pohtical 
lecturer  Miss  Anna  Dickinson,  and  Mr.  Daly  was  thought 
by  her  to  be  a  competent  guide  in  such  a  delicate  and 
momentous  undertaking.  A  similar  ambition  on  the  part 
of  Miss  Kate  Field,  also  well  known  in  the  ranks  of  lec- 
turers and  writers,  brought  her  to  Mr.  Daly.  Taglioni 
had  urged  her  and  Wallack  had  encouraged  her  to  "  adopt 
the  footlights."  It  may  be  said  briefly  here  that  circum- 
stances prevented  both  the  ladies  from  making  an  ap- 
pearance under  my  brother's  management. 

The  earliest  offers  from  an  American  manager  to  the 
Kendalls  came  from  Mr.  Daly.  Through  Mr.  French  he 
offered  them  a  hundred  pounds  a  week  at  his  own  theatre, 
for  two  seasons ;  three  months  to  be  devoted  to  starring, 
the  profit  of  which  was  to  be  shared  equally.  The  Ken- 
dalls asked  for  some  additions,  including  four  "benefits" 
of  half  gross  receipts  in  seven  months  in  New  York. 
Six  months  afterwards  Mr.  Daly's  offer  was  two  hundred 
pounds  a  week.  Mr.  Kendall  required  two  hundred  and 
fifty;  but  soon  all  thoughts  of  coming  to  America  were 
postponed,  owing  to  the  illness  of  Mrs.  Kendall's  mother. 
They  did  not  visit  the  United  States  until  many  years 
afterwards,  when  their  position  on  the  English  stage  had 
grown  to  the  importance,  if  not  the  eminence,  once  pos- 
sessed by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  Kean. 

The  season  of  1 874-1 875  was  opened  with  a  new  drama 
from  the  French  of  Edmond  About,  "Germaine,"  called 
"What  Should  She  Do  ;  or  Jealousy."  It  was  not  a  suc- 
cess. The  story  was  morbid,  but  not  so  unpleasant  as 
Octave  Feuillet's  "Sphynx,"  which  was  seen  a  month  later 
at  the  Union  Square  with  Miss  Morris  in  the  principal  part, 
a  part  which  her  talent  could  not  make  endurable.  Miss 
Davenport  had  the  chief  part  in  About's  drama. 


i68  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

There  is  something  mysterious  in  the  effect  of  a  first 
performance  upon  the  material  of  a  play.  Up  to  that 
time  it  may  have  revealed  nothing  of  structural  weakness, 
it  may  have  read  like  an  absorbing  novel,  hurrying  the 
reader  from  scene  to  scene,  piling  sensation  upon  sensation, 
bewildering  by  variety,  and  thrilling  by  appeal.  Through 
the  rehearsals  it  may  seem  to  grow  in  cogency  and  force ; 
the  actors  may  strut  in  confident  expectation  of  their 
"hits";  and  yet,  in  that  marvellous  alembic  of  the  first 
night,  everything  may  vanish  but  dregs  of  dulness. 

With  his  customary  promptness  the  unsuccessful  drama 
was  withdrawn  by  Mr.  Daly,  and  ten  days  after,  a 
brilliant  success  was  presented  —  Sardou's  "La  Famille 
Benoiton,"  adapted  and  called  "The  Fast  Family," 
in  which  Miss  Dyas  was  Clothilde,  Miss  Jewett  Blanche, 
Harkins  Didier,  Louis  James  Hector,  Jennings  For- 
michel,  Fawcett  Prudent,  Hardenbergh  Monsieur  Benoiton, 
Hart  Conway  his  nephew  Francois,  Stella  Congdon 
and  Bijou  Heron  his  young  sons  Polydore  and  Fanfan, 
and  Emily  Rigl  and  Nina  Varian  his  daughters  Rose  and 
Camille.     My  brother  wrote  to  me  : 

"New  York,  September  6,  1874. 
.  .  .  The  Fast  Family  last  night  was  quite  a  success.  That 
Is,  it  went  off  with  roars  of  laughter  —  2  recalls  —  and  not  a 
hitch  before  a  $900  house.  So  well  was  it  received,  in  fact, 
that  I  am  going  to  try  it  all  the  week;  so  as  to  give  me  more 
time  on  The  School  for  Scandal.  I  do  wish  you  could  come  down 
with  Emma  &  see  that  revival.  I  think  it  will  be  a  night  of 
nights.  I'll  do  it  on  Saturday  the  12th.  I  have  made  a  very 
good  and  close  acting  play  and  I  think  it  will  go." 

It  appears  from  this  letter  also  that  Miss  Dyas  did  not 
like  her  part  in  "The  Fast  Family,"  "though,"  as  the 
letter  states,  "she  made  a  hit  in  it." 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  169 

The  immediate  recovery  from  the  failure  of  the  opening 
piece  proved  that  Mr.  Daly  possessed  in  his  company  a 
working  force  which  no  other  theatre  could  boast,  and 
which,  in  the  then  deplorable  condition  of  theatricals, 
made  his  management  conspicuous.  His  was  the  only 
theatre  which  possessed  a  leading  woman  for  serious  parts 
(Ada  Dyas)  and  a  leading  woman  for  comedy  (Fanny 
Davenport),  three  leading  men,  Clarke,  Harkins,  and 
Louis  James,  and  four  comedians,  James  Lewis,  Harden- 
bergh,  Davidge,  and  Fawcett.  Wallack  had  to  import  a 
leading  man,  H.  J.  Montague,  but  was  still  without  an 
actress  of  the  necessary  reputation  and  ability  for  princi- 
pal roles.  A  letter  from  Wallack  a  little  later  (when  my 
brother  was  getting  up  the  annual  benefit  for  the  Found- 
ling Asylum)  indicates  how  critical  the  veteran  manager 
thought  the  period  : 

"I  will  do  everything  to  aid  you  except  act  myself.  You 
will,  as  a  manager,  I'm  sure  understand  how  much  importance 
(in  these  days  of  powerful  competition)  my  first  appearance  is 
to  me.  It  represents  more  money  than  I  could  well  afi^ord  to 
give." 

A  year  before  this,  Edwin  Booth  had  retired  defeated 
from  his  own  magnificent  new  theatre  on  the  corner  of 
Twenty-third  Street  and  Sixth  Avenue,  and  in  May,  1874, 
the  whole  Booth  interest  was  closed  out  and  a  lease  given 
by  Ames  of  Boston  to  Jarrett  &  Palmer ;  but  those  lessees 
had  just  met  with  a  crushing  reverse  in  the  failure  of 
Boucicault's  "Belle  Lamar."  Wallack  about  the  same 
time  had  brought  to  this  country  one  of  the  famous  old 
comedians  of  the  English  stage,  J.  L.  Toole,  and  met  with 
failure  as  thorough  and  disheartening  as  manager  ever 
experienced.  When  he  wrote  the  letter  given  above,  he 
was  experimenting  with  Montague  with  dubious  results. 


lyo  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Not  until  November  14,  when  he  gave  up  his  theatre 
to  Boucicault  and  "The  Shaughraun,"  did  the  tide  of 
fortune  set  his  way.  Shook  &  Palmer  had  a  Hke  ex- 
perience. They  brought  out  "The  Sphynx"  for  Miss 
Morris,  but  had  soon  to  replace  that  disagreeable  play  with 
"The  Hunchback,"  in  which  she  essayed  Julia;  and  that 
was  followed  by  other  ventures,  equally  discouraging, 
until  "The  Two  Orphans,"  produced  on  December  21, 
brought  the  management  fortune. 

All  that  Daly  needed  was  a  supply  of  plays.  He  had 
been  relying  upon  Bret  Harte,  and  now  Boucicault,  back 
from  a  long  visit  to  Europe  and  looking  for  a  job,  took 
kindly  to  Harte's  proposition  to  help  put  a  Western  legend 
into  theatrical  form.  His  "Belle  Lamar"  at  Booth's  was 
a  disappointment,  and  to  Mr.  Daly  he  disclosed  that  he 
was  engaged  upon  an  Irish  drama  for  Wallack.  The 
period  was  to  be  that  of  the  trouble  that  followed  the 
abdication  of  James  II,  and  the  plot  was  to  depict  the 
serious  struggle  of  a  young  English  officer  between  his 
duty  and  his  love  for  an  accomplished  and  high-bred  Irish 
girl.  Boucicault  felt  that  he  had  been  long  out  of  touch 
with  the  American  public,  and  he  sought  Daly's  advice 
as  fellow  playwright  and  manager,  and  my  brother  gave 
it  with  sincerity.  He  advised  against  the  James  II  period, 
saying  that  the  public  would  feel  no  sympathy  for  distress 
in  big  wigs  and  hooped  petticoats.  He  further  advised 
that  the  theme  of  the  play  should  be  if  possible  treated 
almost  wholly  from  the  humorous  side,  as  the  continued 
financial  and  business  depression  of  the  country  turned  for 
relief  to  the  lighter  theatrical  amusements.  The  advice 
was  followed,  and  so  was  Mr.  Daly's  suggestion  of  a  play 
for  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre,  to  be  called  "The  Bridal 
Tour."  Boucicault  agreed  to  begin  upon  it  at  once,  and 
also  to  get  to  work  with  Bret  Harte ;     and  he  gave  his 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  171 

opinion   (a  mistaken   one)    upon  the  merits  of  Shook  & 
Palmer's  projected  "Two  Orphans"  : 

"The  cast  of  the  2  orphans  is  strong: 
Maud  Granger  .  .  .  Henriette  and 
The  Bhnd  Girl  .  .  .  Claxton !    !    !    !    ! 
The  Blind  girl  should  be  played  by  Palmer." 

(Palmer  was  the  manager  of  the  theatre.) 
"Now  for  Bret  Harte  !  —  I  saw  him  last  night  and  agreed  to 
re-shape  Acts  i  and  2.  —  to  construct  and  detail  Acts  3  and  4, 
which  so  far  have  not  been  shadowed,  much  less  written.  He 
comes  here  on  Monday,  by  which  time  I  shall  have  re-modelled 
Acts  I  &  2.  I  must  do  the  society  dialogue  and  scenes  myself, 
as  I  think  B.  H.'s  best  work  is  rough  character  and  male. 

I  propose  to  call  the  piece  'Kentuck.'  The  name  is  good 
familiar  Brethartish  —  do  you  see  Hardenbergh  in  it .'' 

Yours  faithfully 
D.  B. 

About  the  joint  terms  for  this  piece  —  what  are  they  to  be .'' 
I  have  lost  recollection  of  the  matter  and  B.  H.  is  dizzy  on  the 
same." 

My  dear  Boucicault,  "5th  Ave.  Theatre,  Sept.  7. 

The  original  terms  between  Harte  and  myself  &  which  I  still 
adhere  to  are  :  One  hundred  dollars  per  night  or  six  hundred 
dollars  per  week.  Matinees  free  unless  they  reach  $600,  in 
which  case  $50  is  to  be  paid.  Yours  truly 

Augustin  Daly. 

I  like  the  name  of  'Kentuck'  immensely." 

"My  dear  Daly 

Do  send  me  a  box  for  the  first  night  of  the  School  for  Scandal. 
I  am  afraid  there  is  not  room  for  two  behind  the  terms  you 
have  made  with  Harte  —  and  I  must  retire. 

Yours  ever 

Dion  Boucicault." 


172  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"My  dear  Daly- 
Why  the  blazes   (pardon  my  Irish)   don't  B.  H.  speak  dis- 
tinctly ? 

I  quite  understand  that  you  cannot  afford  to  pay  double 
price  because  two  names  are  attached  to  Harte's  play.  But  / 
cannot  afford  to  work  for  half  price. 

The  simple  question  is  this  —  What  advantage  to  you  will 
result  from  the  combination  of  our  names  —  if  any  —  ^  then 
estimate  that. 

If  none  —  then  keep  my  name  out  of  the  transaction,  and  if 
Harte  simply  wants  my  architectural  plans  to  work  upon  — 
let  me  be  paid  for  that  only  —  leave  me  out  of  the  bargain. 
Let  the  play  be  Harte's  alone.  He  can  take  as  much  or  as  little 
of  my  plans  as  he  likes  —  And  you  will  pay  me  for  helping  him 
over  the  stile. 

So  I  shall  be  released  of  all  responsibility. 
But  if  I  am  to  compose  and  write  as  much  of  the  play  as  I 
see  I  must  do  under  present  arrangements  :  Then  S50  a  night 
would  not  pay  me  —  and  I  should  decline  in  dealing  with  Harte 
to  accept  a  larger  share  than  half —  if  he  proposed  such  an  ar- 
rangement. ,,  .  , 

I  ours  smcerely 

Dion  Boucicault." 

"20  East  15th  St. 
W'ednesday. 
My  dear  Daly 

I  wrote  you  last  night  as  clear  and  distinct  a  proposition  as 
Euclid  could  have  shaped. 

I  will  now  put  it  in  a  business  shape. 

You  engaged  Bret  Harte  to  write  you  a  play.  —  he  began  it 

—  and  found  he  could  not  construct  such  a  work.     He  came  to 
me  to  do  it  for  him. 

I  undertake  to  put  the  piece  into  form  —  make  a  play  of  it 

—  which  he  can  clothe  with  dialogue. 

For  this  work  you  shall  pay  me  one  thousand  dollars,  and  I 
transfer  to  you  all  my  right,  title  and  share  in  the  concern  — 
my  name  is  not  to  be  associated  with  the  matter. 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  173 

My  design  and  plot  should  be  seen  and  approved  by  you 
before  Harte  begins  upon  the  material  I  furnish  —  so  that  the 
work  may  proceed  congenially. 

There  1  is  that  a  puzzle  ?  To  avoid  all  this  enigmatical  busi- 
ness  —  We  three  should  have  met  and  then  there  could  have 
been  no  reserve  or  fog. 

My  position  was  plain  from  the  first  moment  that  Harte 
and  I  spoke  of  terms  —  viz. :  —  $50  a  night  will  not  pay  me  for 
the  amount  of  work  I  saw  before  me.  —  This  I  told  him  and  I 
told  you  —  Your  terms  for  the  piece  are  liberal  enough  —  and 
if  I  were  sole  author  I  could  have  accepted  them  without  de- 
mur. 

But  half  a  loaf  is  not  bread  enough  for  me. 

Yours  sincerely 

Dion  Boucicault." 

"20  East  15th  St. 

My  dear  Daly  Wedn.  9  Sept.  74. 

In  reply  to  your  offer  contained  in  yours  of  this  day  I  ac- 
cept :  — 

Bret  Harte  and  self  will  write  conjointly  the  new  American 
Drama.  And  for  the  privilege  of  playing  the  same  at  the  sth 
Avenue  Theatre  during  the  present  season  —  you  pay  us  12 
per  cent  of  the  gross  receipts  nightly,  that  is  :  — 6  per  cent  to 
me  and  6  per  cent  to  him. 

The  play  shall  be  delivered  to  you  as  fast  as  it  is  completed 
act  by  act.  — 

Yours  sincerely 

Dion  Boucicault." 

"To  Augustin  Daly  Esq. 

Private  : 
My  dear  Daly.  — 

It  was  not  without  motive  that  I  suggested  to  you  in  one  of 
my  letters  that  you  should  devote  a  stray  hour  to  watch  the 
progress  of  'Kentuck'  -  Harte  is  dilatory  and  erratic.  He  is 
very  anxious  to  get  the  work  done  —  but  thinks  we  can  scurry 


174 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 


over  the  ground  more  rapidly  than  is  consistent  with  safety. 
For  your  sake  —  as  well  as  for  ours  —  the  piece  should  be  care- 
fully done.  I  have  constructed  a  new  first  act  —  I  send  you 
a  cast  raisonnee. 

With  some  difficulty  I  have  made  Harte  promise  to  attend 
here  every  day  at  4  o'clock. 

Could  you  drop  in  here  about  Monday  next  between  4  and 
6  and  'report  progress'  — make  your  remarks  on  the  enclosed 
meanwhile. 

Sincerely 
D.  B" 


The  cast  raisonnee  made  out  by  the  famous  dramatist 
and  enclosed  in  his  last  epistle  shows  the  Boucicault 
method : 

Hardenbergh.     "Kentuck.^^     Aged     33.     A    bluff   fellow  who 

has  a  large  claim  on  Sandy  Bar, 
where  be  believes  there  is  a  rich 
mine.  There  is  a  tradition  that 
the  Spanish  family  that  owned  this 
place  worked  secretly  a  rich  mine 
here  for  ages.  Kentuck  believes 
in  the  existence  of  this  old  mine. 
He  is  half  cracked  on  the  subject. 
He  has  taken  to  drink. 


Clarke. 


James 
or 
Harkins. 


Oakhurst.  His  partner,  aged  26.  A  gam- 
bler —  very  cool,  quiet  —  deeply  at- 
tached to  Kentuck  —  they  hut 
together  —  he  resists  Kentuck's  pas- 
sion for  drink. 

Fanshawe.  Foreman  of  the  mines  at 
Sandy  Bar;  has  discovered  an  Eng- 
lish speculator  in  San  Francisco  — 
who  will  buy  Sandy  Bar —  Fanshawe 
has  excited  this  man  on  the  subject  — 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 


175 


and  has  brought  him  down  to  see 
the  place  —  the  other  miners  have 
agreed  to  sell  out  their  claims  —  Ken- 
tuck  refuses  —  holds  out. 

Davidge.  Sir  Ulysses  Medlicott.     A  conceited  Eng- 

lishman, City  knight  —  who  repre- 
sents an  English  company  of  capital- 
ists. 

Sara  Jewett.  Kate.     His  daughter,  in  love  with  "Ken- 

tuck." 

Lewis,  Telemachus.     His     son  —  a    cockney    up- 

start —  who  despises  anything  Amer- 
ican —  a  bragging  fellow  about  his 
"British  pluck"  —  but  really  a  cow- 
ard ;    not  a  bad  fellow  at  heart. 

Mrs.  Gilbert.  Lady  Medlicott.     A  mournful,   testy,  vul- 

gar woman  complaining  of  every- 
thing she  finds  in  the  "orrible  wilder- 
ness"—  always  warning  Sir  Ulysses 
that  they  will  come  to  ruin. 

C.  Fisher.  Don  Diego  Ruiz.     An  old  Spanish  hidalgo 

who  once  owned  the  estate  —  has 
lost  his  wits  by  the  invasion  —  still 
inhabits  the  ruined  hacienda  —  him- 
self a  greater  ruin.  Thinks  he  is  still 
master  of  the  place  —  receives  insult 
as  compliment  and  is  noble,  courteous 
and  dignified  to  the  jeering  miners. 

Fanny  Davenport.     Ooita.     His  daughter  —  a  Spanish  girl  — 

proud  —  irascible  —  hating  the  Amer- 
ican —  a  wild  &  noble  girl  —  in  love 
with  Oakhurst. 


176  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 


Boston. 
Parkes.  Flynn. 

Sol  Russell.  Jemmy  Bymon. 

Coscob. 


Miners  —  each  with 
marked  &  distinct  charac- 
ters:  the  "scientific  and 
sanguine"  miner,  the  re- 
fined and  disappointed 
miner,  the  rough  and  reck- 
less miner. 

At  the  moment  when  Daly  deemed  himself  secure  in  the 
possession  of  the  most  perfect  theatrical  organization  in  the 
country  and  had  only  to  provide  the  vehicle  for  its  display, 
an  unlooked-for  desertion  almost  paralyzed  his  eflforts. 
Miss  Dyas  left  him  and  went  to  Wallack's.  One  of  his 
oldest  friends  and  stanchest  supporters  outside  of  his  own 
family  (also  a  friend  of  Wallack  and  of  Miss  Dyas)  called 
upon  him  almost  immediately  after  the  successful  produc- 
tion of  "The  Fast  Family"  to  impart  the  intelligence  that 
the  lady  was  uncomfortable;  that  she  was  afraid  her 
manager  had  been  disappointed  in  her  from  the  first; 
that  she  had  wished  to  leave  last  season,  but  had  yielded 
to  the  persuasion  of  her  friends,  and  remained  ;  that  she 
had  been  used  in  her  own  country  to  a  great  deal  of  con- 
sideration, had  been  quite  a  little  power  in  her  sphere,  and 
did  not  like  the  republic  which  Mr.  Daly  maintained  in  his 
theatre;  and  that  she  desired  to  be  released.  Mr.  Daly 
knew  at  once  that  an  engagement  at  Wallack's  was  wait- 
ing for  Miss  Dyas.  There  was  no  one  to  play  the  heroine 
in  "The  Shaughraun,"  and  he  recalled  that  a  week  or  two 
before,  Boucicault  had  written  as  if  casually : 

"...  If  Ada  Dyas  is  not  included  in  your  programme  for 
October  I  can  place  her  for  that  month  or  for  a  longer  time  if  it 
suits  you." 

It  was  manifest  of  course  that  there  had  been  considerable 
negotiation  going  on,  and  that,  the  time  being  ripe,  a  dip- 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  177 

lomatic  agent  had  been  selected  who  could  impress  upon 
the  manager  the  alternative  of  yielding,  or  of  facing  an 
unyielding  antagonism  in  his  own  establishment.  The 
friendly  representative  took  this  occasion  to  say  that  in 
his  opinion  the  manager's  policy  of  not  making  a  star  of 
any  member  of  his  company  was  a  mistake;  that  the 
public  would  have  it,  and  that  he  would  be  compelled  to 
yield.  In  a  few  days  Miss  Dyas  was  advertised  as  a  mem- 
ber of  Mr.  Wallack's  regular  company. 

The  production  of  "The  School  for  Scandal"  at  the 
Fifth  Avenue  on  September  12,  1874,  proved  a  brilliant 
success.  The  performance  was  witnessed  by  a  crowded 
house  and  received  enthusiastically.  Miss  Davenport 
was  Lady  Teazle^  Fisher  Sir  Peter,  Mrs.  Gilbert  Mrs. 
Candour,  Davidge  Sir  Oliver,  Hardenbergh  Crabtree, 
Lewis  Moses,  Miss  Jewett  Maria,  Clarke  Charles,  and 
Louis  James  Joseph.  To  Clarke  and  James  a  great  share 
of  the  success  was  due.  By  them  and  Fisher  the  celebrated 
screen  scene  was  so  deftly  worked  up  that  it  was  prac- 
tically divided  in  two  parts  by  the  applause  and  recalls 
of  the  audience  —  first  when  Sir  Peter  is  forced  into  the 
closet,  and  next  when  Lady  Teazle  is  discovered. 

The  play  was  reconstructed  by  Mr.  Daly  so  as  to  present 
each  act  in  a  single  scene.  It  had  been  remodelled  for  the 
Prince  of  Wales  Theatre,  so  Mr.  Daly  had  the  authority 
of  the  London  stage  for  meddling  with  the  classic ;  but  he 
discarded  the  English  version  and  invented  one  of  his  own. 

While  Bronson  Howard's  "Moorcroft"  was  in  rehearsal, 
the  public  was  treated  to  a  surprise,  —  a  representation 
by  tableaux  of  Longfellow's  poem  just  published,  "The 
Hanging  of  the  Crane."  The  seven  pictures  described  in 
the  lines  were  shown  as  Harkins  recited  the  poem,  accom- 
panied with  incidental  music  by  Dodworth.  The  scenes 
were  painted  by  Witham,  and  the  personages  were  repre- 


178  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

sented  by  Ringgold,  Fawcett,  Davldge,  Mrs.  Gilbert,  Miss 
Varian,  and  Miss  Alice  Grey.  The  evening's  entertain- 
ment began  with  the  comedietta  of  "The  Two  Widows,"  in 
which  the  four  parts  were  taken  by  Miss  Davenport,  Miss 
Jewett,  Clarke,  and  Hardenbergh ;  and  concluded  with  a 
new  version  of  Sheridan's  "Critic,"  with  James  Lewis  as 
Puff.  The  lack  of  favor  shown  by  the  public  to  this  meri- 
torious performance  indicated  the  aversion  of  the  Ameri- 
can public  to  an  entertainment  consisting  of  "one  act" 
pieces.  After  a  week  the  poem  was  withdrawn  for  Bron- 
son  Howard's  "Moorcroft." 

"Moorcroft"  barely  survived  for  two  weeks.  The 
local  press  treated  it  as  a  sort  of  false  claimant  to  the 
honors  of  the  American  drama.  The  following  extract 
from  one  of  the  journals  illustrates  the  hostile  spirit  in 
which  the  task  of  criticism  was  approached  : 

"We  have  the  author's  word  for  it  that  neither  'Saratoga' 
nor  'Moorcroft'  is  taken  from  the  French.  We  are  sorry  for  it. 
We  had  hoped  both  were.  But  he  insists  that  in  the  deed  of 
dullness  he  had  no  accomplice." 

There  were  insinuations  that  the  play  had  its  origin  in"  Les 
Faux,"  a  forgotten  French  play.  This  was  a  repetition  of  a 
rumor  started  by  the  London  Times,  and  it  compelled  the 
author  to  publish  a  good-tempered  answer.  Mr.  Daly 
would  not  let  him  wage  an  unsupported  conflict  with  the 
press,  and  so  he  addressed  on  the  same  date  (October  24, 
1874)  a  letter  to  the  Herald  condemning  the  attitude  of 
American  journalists  towards  native  dramatists.  He 
showed  the  inconsistency  of  the  lament  over  the  absence 
of  an  "American  drama"  and  the  systematic  condemna- 
tion of  all  attempts  in  that  direction ;  saying  that  there 
will  be  no  indigenous  growth  if  the  young  shoots  are  pulled 
up  by  the  roots  and  the  cultivators  are  driven  from  the 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  179 

field ;  and  affirming  that  the  only  people  who  endeavored 
to  establish  an  American  drama  were  authors  and  man- 
agers, without  any  assistance  from  journalists,  and  par- 
ticularly dramatic  critics.  He  instanced  "Belle  Lamar," 
the  characters  and  incidents  of  which  were  taken  from  the 
late  Civil  War,  but  which  was  denied  all  claim  to  the  title 
of  American,  "because  —  mark  the  reason!  —  the  inci- 
dents might  have  occurred  in  any  other  country";  he 
also  referred  to  "The  Gilded  Age,"  considered  as  having  a 
doubtful  claim  to  the  same  title  because  there  was  only 
one  distinctively  American  character  in  it,  that  of  Colonel 
Sellers ;  and  he  summed  up  in  the  phrase,  "American  press 
writers  are  proud  of  everything  American  except  other 
American  writers." 

The  unlooked  for  failure  of  "Moorcroft"  compelled  the 
manager  to  fall  back  upon  his  brilliant  production  of  "The 
School  for  Scandal,"  which  was  accordingly  revived  on 
November  2 ;  but  this  resource  was  immediately  cut 
oflF  by  the  singular  behavior  of  George  Clarke  {Charles 
Surface)  who,  irritated  by  a  reproof  from  his  manager, 
left  the  theatre  before  the  play  was  over.  The  reproof 
was  for  disregard  of  the  rule  that  no  beards  or  mustaches 
were  to  be  worn  in  the  comedy.  Clarke,  who  had  always 
previously  observed  this  requirement,  thought  that  a 
revival  for  two  nights  did  not  demand  the  sacrifice  of  a 
mustache  which  had  embellished  "Moorcroft,"  and  af- 
fronted the  public  by  leaving  his  performance  unfinished. 
More  than  this,  he  allowed  himself  to  be  interviewed  by 
reporters  and  to  predict  the  downfall  of  the  arbitrary 
reign  of  Daly.  A  few  months  later  he  wrote  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Daly  expressing  his  regret. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Daly  sets  out  to  make  up  for  unexpected  defections.  His  production 
of  "The  School  for  Scandal"  a  pronounced  hit,  but  everything 
after  it  fails.  "The  Belle's  Stratagem,"  "Everybody's  Friend," 
"The  Heart  of  Midlothian."  Not  three  weeks'  paying  business 
in  three  months.  Remarkable  play  from  the  Spanish  produced. 
Louis  James  as  "Yorick."  Judge  Van  Brunt's  opinion  of  the 
public.  Henry  Bergh's  appreciation.  "London  Assurance," 
"She  Stoops  to  Conquer,"  "Man  and  Wife"  and  "Monsieur 
Alphonse"  wasted.  E.  L.  Davenport's  splendid  acting  in  "A 
New  Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts"  unavailing.  Miss  Carlotta  Leclercq 
in  "Pygmalion  and  Galatea"  and  "The  Palace  of  Truth."  She 
plays  Portia  to  Davenport's  "Shylock."  Financial  stress.  The 
company  on  half  salaries.  Gossip  of  the  street.  Downfall  of 
Daly  predicted.  Engagement  of  Stephen  Fiske  as  business  man- 
ager. "Women  of  the  Day."  Sudden  change  with  the  produc- 
tion of  "The  Big  Bonanza."  First  appearance  of  John  Drew  under 
Daly's  management.  A  hundred  nights.  The  company  now 
much  sought  after  for  benefits.  Ringgold  and  Montague  want  Miss 
Davenport  to  play  for  them.  Her  benefit.  Mrs.  Gilbert's.  Little 
Bijou  Heron.  Mrs.  Alice  Dunning  Lingard.  Restored  friend- 
ship with  Clara  Morris.  Fanny  Davenport  and  her  ^looo.  The 
DeVeres.  Actors'  children  and  what  happens.  Sydney  Cowell 
engaged.  First  trip  to  San  Francisco.  Poor  quarters.  China- 
town. Virginia  City  and  the  Bonanza  mine.  Salt  Lake  City. 
Brigham  Young. 

"The  School  for  Scandal"  was  immediately  replaced  by 

"The  Belle's  Stratagem,"  which  had  been  rehearsed  for 

emergencies,  and  Miss   Davenport  as  Letitia  Hardy  and 

Louis  James  as   Doricourt  gave  a  spirited  performance.^ 

"Masks  and  Faces"  broughtout  Mrs.  J.  H.  (Louise)  Allen 

for    the    first    time    in    several    years.-     "Everybody's 

Friend"  gave  Lewis  an  opportunity  to  create  a  new  Major 

»  Nov.  4,  1874.  "^  Nov.  10,  1874. 

180 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  i8i 

De  Boots,^  and  finally  the  rehearsals  (superintended  by 
Boucicault  himself  when  he  could  tear  himself  away  from 
"The  Shaughraun")  of  "The  Heart  of  Midlothian"  ended 
In  the  elaborate  production  of  that  play.^  All  these  ven- 
tures were  played  to  diminishing  houses,  and  the  deficit 
in  running  expenses  increased  enormously.  In  three 
months  there  had  been  hardly  more  than  three  weeks  of 
remunerative  business.  Boucicault's  play  lived  barely 
two  weeks,  and  ran  behind  from  the  start ;  yet  in  the  worry 
and  anxiety  of  this  period  the  manager  was  able  to  give  his 
personal  effort  to  the  production  of  a  genuine  work  of  art 
—  a  notable  Spanish  play  known  as  "  Yorick." 

As  "Un  Drama  Nuevo"  ("A  New  Play"),  produced  in 
1867  in  Madrid,  it  was  not  only  a  tremendous  acting  suc- 
cess, but  found  a  reading  public  which  demanded  four 
editions  of  the  published  work  in  the  same  year.  The 
fanciful  story  Is  that  Yorick,  Hamlet's  old  acquaintance  of 
infinite  jest,  was  not  a  mere  court  buffoon,  but  a  contem- 
porary player  and  popular  favorite.  The  "new  play"  is 
an  original  tragedy  accepted  by  Shakespeare  for  perform- 
ance at  his  own  theatre.  Its  plot  is  the  discovery  by 
Count  Octavio  of  the  perfidy  of  his  wife  Beatrice  with  his 
false  friend  and  adopted  son  Manfred^  disclosed  by  the 
jealousy  of  the  villain  Landulph.  The  comedian  of  the 
Shakespeare  company,  Yorick,  is  possessed  with  the 
ambition  to  play  a  tragic  part,  and  persuades  Shakespeare 
to  take  the  role  of  Octavio  from  the  leading  man  Walton 
and  give  it  to  him.  Walton  conceives  a  fiendish  scheme 
to  ruin  the  performance  and  wreck  the  peace  of  the  too 
ambitious  Yorick.  In  the  scene  in  which  Count  Octavio 
receives  a  letter  apprising  him  of  the  frailty  of  the  Countess 
and  the  perfidy  of  Manfred,  Walton  substitutes  for  the 
property  missive  a  communication  revealing  to  Yorick 
1  Nov.  20,  1874.  2  Nov.  21,  1874. 


1 82  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

his  betrayal  by  his  own  wife  (acting  the  part  of  the 
Countess)  and  his  pupil  and  friend  Edmund  (who  is  cast  for 
Manfred).  Thus  a  real  drama  of  jealousy  and  treachery 
is  enacted  in  the  very  scenes  and  by  the  characters  of  the 
acted  play.  Walton^s  baseness,  however,  only  partly 
succeeds.  It  tortures  Yorick  to  madness,  but  Yorick^s 
passion,  now  real  instead  of  simulated,  renders  the  mimic 
scene  almost  insupportably  true  to  nature.  Yorick  ex- 
pires after  an  attempt  to  kill  his  wife  and  Edmund. 

The  value  of  the  piece  as  an  acting  play  was  unques- 
tionable. Its  presentation  required  an  actor  of  the  first 
ability.  The  manager  had  already  sounded  the  possibil- 
ities of  Louis  James,  and  knew  that  he  could  go  far  if  he 
devoted  himself  with  sincerity  to  his  art.  To  him  he 
awarded  the  role  of  Yorick,  passing  over  (a  singular  coinci- 
denceof  play  with  fact)  the  claims  of  Harkins  as  leading  man. 
The  artistic  results  fully  justified  his  choice,  and  James, 
inspired  with  the  confidence  of  his  manager  and  the 
greatness  of  his  part,  surpassed  all  expectations  on  the 
opening  night,^  and  disclosed  the  tragic  power  which,  in  a 
later  period,  he  was  generally  acknowledged  to  possess. 
But  the  manager  did  not  reckon  with  the  incredulity  of 
press  and  public,  which  refused  to  believe  in  the  value  of 
a  tragedy  that  had  no  well-known  tragedian  for  its  inter- 
preter. The  season  had  already  witnessed  some  starva- 
tion receipts,  but  the  lowest  level  was  now  reached.  Dis- 
gusted with  the  desertion  of  the  public,  after  a  trial  of  one 
week  the  manager  indignantly  tore  off  the  play  and  con- 
signed the  manuscript  to  his  library  shelves. 

And  yet  the  play  and  the  manager  and  the  actors  de- 
served unstinted  praise  and  support.  Judge  Van  Brunt, 
who  may  be  remembered  as  a  plain-spoken  man,  went 
to  the  play,  saw  the  empty  house,  and  set  down  the  public 

1  Dec.  s,  1874. 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  183 

as  asses.  He  said  to  me  years  afterwards  :  "The  best  play 
your  brother  ever  produced  met  with  the  worst  recep- 
tion !"  Henry  Bergh  wrote  a  letter  which  conveys  better 
than  I  can  the  impression  made  by  the  play  upon  culti- 
vated minds  : 

"From  the  rising  of  your  elegant  curtain,  until  the  last  scene, 
and  word,  uttered,  my  attention  was  riveted  to  the  stage.  If  I 
am  capable  of  appreciating  dramatic  excellence  and  acting,  I 
do  not  hesitate  to  declare  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  present 
to  the  public  a  more  truly  enjoyable  performance  than  that  I 
witnessed  last  night.  The  play  itself  would  add  to  the  incom- 
parable fame  of  the  great  Shakespeare  himself.  The  acting 
was  exceptionally  great  —  while  the  mise  en  scene,  and  costumes, 
left  nothing  to  desire.  The  part  of  Yorick,  as  rendered  by  Mr. 
James,  raises  him  to  a  level  of  the  greatest  artists  of  his  time  — 
while  the  elegant  and  refined  lady  who  portrayed  so  touchingly 
the  distracted  wife,  (Mrs.  Jewett,)  was  entirely  admirable.  .  . 

The  purpose  of  this  letter  is  to  request  you  to  delay  the  re- 
moval from  your  Stage  of  these  beautiful  pieces  until  the  public 
have  had  an  opportunity  to  judge  for  themselves.  ...  If  the 
equivocal  and  sensational  rubbish  which  theatre-going  people 
are  made  to  endure  nowadays  is  to  be  substituted  for  such  a 
performance  as  I  witnessed  at  your  house  last  night  —  then 
farewell  to  the  legitimate  drama. 

I  am 

dear  Sir 

Yours  faithfully 

Henry  Bergh. 

P.S.     I  have  sent  a  copy  of  this  to  the  Times  for  publication.^  " 

Nor  were  the  leading  men  of  the  profession  blind  to  its 
merits.  Davenport  wrote  that  it  was  "full  of  dramatic 
beauty  and  poetry,"  and  Lawrence  Barrett  applied  for 
the  right  to  produce  it  in  New  Orleans,  Boston,  Philadel- 

'  Dec.  II,  1874. 


l84  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

phia,  and  San  Francisco.  In  later  years,  as  "Yorlck's 
Love,"  it  had  a  fixed  place  in  his  repertoire;  but  in  his 
acting  version,  his  reverence  for  Shakespeare  induced  him 
to  substitute  Thomas  Heywood  as  the  manager.  At  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Fisher  was  Shakespeare,  made  up  after  the 
intellectual  and  aristocratic  Chandos  portrait,  Harden- 
bergh  the  envious  and  malignant  Walton,  Ringgold  Man- 
fred, Sara  Jewett  the  wife  Alison,  Miss  Mortimer  Margery, 
and  Jennings  The  Prompter.  To  Lewis  was  given  the 
only  humorous  part  in  the  play,  that  of  The  Author  —  a 
character  always  the  butt  of  the  dramatist,  though  why, 
Heaven  knows  !  In  the  gloom  and  depression  caused  by 
the  slaughter  of  this  remarkable  play,  the  manager  had  the 
grim  satisfaction  of  observing  that  none  of  his  critics 
noticed  the  anachronism  of  a  female  player  on  Shake- 
speare's stage  ! 

The  beautiful  theatre  seemed  suddenly  to  have  sunk 
into  a  groove  of  ill  luck.  "London  Assurance,"  "She 
Stoops  to  Conquer,"  "Man  and  Wife,"  and  "Monsieur 
Alphonse,"  put  on  in  quick  succession,  could  not  pry  it  out. 
Then  the  manager  took  his  principal  people  on  tour  and 
brought  in  stars  to  exert  a  temporary  benign  influence. 
E.  L.  Davenport  appeared  in  a  revival  of  Massinger's 
"A  New  Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts,"  ^  one  of  the  greatest 
impersonations  of  Sir  Giles  Overreach  the  stage  had  seen  — 
it  drew  the  veteran  actor  and  manager,  William  Wheatley, 
out  of  his  retirement.  Then  Miss  Carlotta  Leclercq  came 
in  "  Pygmalion  and  Galatea  "  ^  and  "The  Palace  of  Truth," 
and  both  stars  united  in  a  presentation  of  "The  Merchant 
of  Venice."  ^ 

During  this  time  the  finances  of  the  theatre  had  to  be 
maintained  by  loans,  and  for  a  time  the  company  cheer- 
fully  agreed   to  be  put  on   half  salaries.     The  financial 

>Dec.  21,  1874.  2  Dec.  28,  1874.  ^  Jan.  11,  1875. 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  185 

matters  were  kept  reasonably  quiet.  The  old  and  experi- 
enced Davidge  put  the  matter  very  convincingly  to  his 
fellow  players.  They  resented,  too,  the  gossip  of  the 
street,  by  which  the  debacle  of  the  management  was  pre- 
dicted, and  the  genius,  skill,  and  efficiency  of  rival  estabHsh- 
ments  were  exalted. 

Among  Daly's  new  arrangements  was  the  securing  of  a 
new  business  manager,  Stephen  Fiske,  who  had  just  given 
up  the  management  of  the  St.  James  Theatre,  London. 
Having  the  fullest  confidence  in  Daly,  he  predicted  that  in 
six  weeks  they  would  be  "turning  people  away." 

"Women  of  the  Day,"  a  well-written  comedy  by  an  old 
actor,  Charles  Morton  of  Philadelphia,  brought  the  com- 
pany home,^  and  then  occurred  one  of  those  happy  events 
that  change  the  face  of  fortune.  Von  Moser,  a  noted 
German  playwright,  had  written  a  farce  that  tickled  the 
Berliners  and  Viennese  immensely,  for  it  ridiculed  the 
passion  for  senseless  speculation  which  set  in  with  the  Ger- 
mans after  their  intoxicating  success  in  the  Franco-Prussian 
campaign  of  1870-1871.  Neuendorf,  manager  of  the  German 
theatre  in  New  York,  called  Daly's  attention  to  the  play. 
Daly  had  just  the  company  to  play  it,  and  he  was  just 
the  man  to  reconstruct  it  as  an  American  story  of  the 
foolhardy  speculation  from  the  effects  of  which  our  coun- 
try was  sufl^ering.  Lewis  was  the  crabbed  professor,  rep- 
resentative of  "brains"  as  opposed  to  "money,"  and  an 
admirable  foil  to  his  brother-in-law  (Fisher),  an  amiable 
plutocrat.  But  the  satirical  side  was  the  least  attractive 
of  the  play.  Two  pairs  of  young  lovers  made  the  charm 
of  the  evening ;  the  impecunious  young  rolling  stone  Boh, 
his  sedate  and  struggling  chum  Jack,  and  the  goddesses  of 
their  affections,  Eugenia  (Miss  Davenport)  and  Virginia 
(Miss  Rigl). 

'  Jan.  20,  1875. 


i86  THE   LIFE  OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

For  the  part  of  the  impecunious  and  light-hearted  Bob 
Mr.  Daly  brought  from  Philadelphia  young  John  Drew, 
then  playing  his  first  engagement  at  his  mother's  theatre. 
It  was  again  one  of  the  Daly  surprises  —  to  give  a  novice 
a  leading  part  in  a  metropolitan  theatre.  Von  Moser's 
play  was  produced  under  the  title  of  "The  Big  Bonanza," 
and  on  February  17,  1875,  Drew  made  his  first  appear- 
ance in  New  York  under  the  manager  with  whom  he  was 
to  remain  for  many  years.  The  finish  of  his  later  perform- 
ances was  not  to  be  found  in  this  one,  but  there  was  all 
their  intelligence,  added  to  the  exuberant  spirits  of  youth. 
It  was  a  joyous  performance.  The  archness  and  beauty 
of  Miss  Davenport  and  Miss  Rigl  were  well  mated  with 
the  ardor  of  Drew  and  Ringgold.  It  is  not  easy  to  forget 
the  first  call  of  the  impecunious  Bob  upon  his  inamorata 
with  a  surprisingly  fine  suit  of  clothes  and  a  very  per- 
ceptible limp.  He  explains  in  a  single  line  of  soliloquy, 
after  sending  up  his  card  :  "Jack's  clothes  fit  me  pretty 
well,  but  his  shoes  —  !" 

Lewis  and  Mrs.  Gilbert  had  two  of  those  parts  which 
later  made  the  Daly  plays  famous.  His  sage  remarks 
(and  hers)  upon  the  various  stocks  in  which  he  was  blindly 
investing,  were  the  joy  of  the  house  for  a  hundred  nights. 

The  play  ran  to  the  end  of  the  season.  The  stage  of 
the  Fifth  Avenue  was  full  of  sunshine.  Its  company  was 
again  esteemed  the  most  desirable  in  the  profession. 
Jarrett  &  Palmer  vainly  begged  Daly  for  Miss  Emily  Rigl 
for  Princess  Katharine  in  "Henry  V"  at  Booth's,  with 
George  Rignold  as  the  star.  She  would  have  been  perfec- 
tion in  it.  It  was  the  period  of  benefits.  Montague  for 
his  fete  selected  "London  Assurance,"  and  asked  for  Miss 
Davenport  to  play  Lady  Gay  Spanker,  Lewis  for  Meddle, 
Fisher  for  Sir  Harcourt,  and  Davldge  for  Max.  Rignold's 
benefit  took  place  later  at  Booth's,  and  Mr.  Daly  allowed 


Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  187 

Aliss  Davenport  to  play  Pauline  to  his  Claude  Melnotte. 
For  the  few  months  in  which  he  appeared  in  "Henry  V," 
Rignold  caused  a  sort  of  madness  among  theatregoers. 
At  the  benefit  in  question  he  gave  "Blackeyed  Susan" 
as  an  after-piece,  and  women  fainted  with  emotion. 

Mrs.  Lingard,  the  wife  of  WilHam  Horace  Lingard,  bet- 
ter known  as  AHce  Dunning,  was  in  Mr.  Daly's  company, 
having  joined  with  a  view  to  her  debut  on  the  legitimate 
stage,  and  was  waiting  for  a  play  worthy  of  her  ambition 
and  her  gifts.  Rignold  asked  Mr.  Daly  to  let  her  play 
Blackeyed  Susan,  but  it  was  out  of  the  question  to  allow 
her  to  make  her  first  appearance  on  such  an  occasion,  and 
so  the  part  of  Susan  was  bestowed  upon  Miss  Maude 
Granger,  who  subsequently  created  the  title  role  in  Sar- 
dou's  "Dora"  ("Diplomacy")  at  Wallack's  in  1878. 

Miss  Davenport,  of  course,  had  a  benefit  in  "The  Hunch- 
back," as  Julia,  with  Montague  as  Clifford,  Rignold  as 
Modus,  and  Frank  Mayo  as  Master  Walter.  Then  Mrs. 
Gilbert  had  her  benefit  with  Rignold  and  Miss  Davenport 
in  "The  Lady  of  Lyons,"  and  John  Brougham  his  as 
0^ Callaghan  in  the  old-fashioned,  Irish,  gentlemanly  farce, 
"His  Last  Legs."  A  dainty  bit  of  child  acting  was  fur- 
nished by  the  juvenile  Bijou  Heron  as  Romeo  to  little  Fay 
Templeton's  Juliet  in  the  balcony  scene. 

With  regard  to  another  benefit  performance,  the  mana- 
ger received  this  letter : 

"N.  Y.  Jan.  7th,  1875. 
My  dear  Mr  Daly 

I  am  just  informed  that  you  have  consented  to  spare  Bijou 
for  her  little  entertainment  at  Union  Square  Theatre. 

I  can  but  say  that  this  (is)  another  evidence  of  the  noble 
manner  in  which  you  have  taken  interest  in  her  since  you  first 
took  her  by  the  hand.  To  say  I  am  grateful  were  meagre 
thanks  in  sounding  words,  but  I  have  that  in  my  heart  which 


1 88  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

thanks  you  in  silence,  but  with  a  warmth  of  gratitude  unspoken 
but  faithful  as  the  flood  which  flows  through  it.     I  pray  Heaven  it 
may  be  ever  in  my  power  to  aid  in  some  way  on  my  own  humble 
part  to  your  prosperity. 
God  bless  you. 

Matilda  Heron." 

In  the  retrospect  of  the  passing  season,  the  pleasing 
recollection  remains  of  a  renewal  of  friendly  relations  with 
Miss  Clara  Morris.  As  in  the  case  of  Miss  Agnes  Ethel, 
Mr.  Daly  had  accorded  her  the  privilege  of  playing  his 
copy-righted  versions  of  the  plays  in  which  she  had  made 
her  reputation  in  his  theatre.  On  January  i,  Miss  Morris 
added  to  her  letter  enclosing  royalties  a  postscript :  "May 
I  wish  you  a  happy  New  Year  .''  I  do  so  with  all  my  heart. 
C.  M." 

The  success  of  "The  Big  Bonanza"  enabled  the  manager 
to  reward  the  loyalty  of  his  company.  Here  is  one  ac- 
knowledgment : 

"May  I2th,  1875. 
My  dear  Mr.  Daly 

A  thousand  thanks  for  your  or  rather  'my  thousand  dollars.' 
What  a  nest  egg.  How  I  hope  it  is  but  one  of  thousands  of 
thousands  that  I  bring  to  you.  If  a  woman's  determination, 
energy,  talents  &  gratitude  can  thank  you  the  future  will  show 

y^^-  Ever  sincerely 

Fanny  Davenport." 

Miss  Davenport  had  excellent  training  in  the  duty  owed 
by  actor  to  manager  from  her  mother,  a  member  of  the 
Vining  family,  and  from  her  distinguished  step-father 
whose  name  she  bore.  Her  theatrical  experience  began 
with  her  first  appearance  as  a  child  for  his  benefit  at 
Niblo's  Garden  in  1863,  as  Charles  I  in  "Faint  Heart  Never 
Won  Fair  Lady." 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  189 

Few  persons  know  at  what  sacrifice  the  lesser  mem- 
bers of  a  troupe  sometimes  leave  their  homes  to  fill  unex- 
pected demands.  One  of  the  most  reliable  couples  in  Mr. 
Daly's  employ  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  DeVere,  the  parents  of 
six  children.  The  exigencies  of  a  New  Orleans  engagement 
required  their  instant  departure  from  New  York,  and  they 
made  a  hurried  arrangement  with  a  motherly  person  to 
look  after  the  flock.  No  sooner  were  the  parents  out  of 
sight  than  the  enfranchised  youngsters  mutinied,  and  got 
up  a  negro  minstrel  show  in  the  apartment  with  the  assist- 
ance of  equally  unruly  neighbors,  to  the  delectation  of  a 
crowd  of  youthful  invaders  invited  from  the  street.  The 
racket,  din,  and  destruction  drove  out  the  motherly 
person,  who  disappeared  and  did  not  dare  to  reappear. 
Kind-hearted  neighbors  soon  realized  the  situation,  and 
cared  for  the  children  until  the  return  of  their  parents 
after  an  extended  absence.  No  wonder  poor  Mrs.  De  Vere, 
when  a  subsequent  sudden  departure  was  proposed,  wrote  : 

My  dear  Sir  "Sunday. 

To  leave  my  house  and  children  alone  again  is  something 
terrible.  I  went  for  two  weeks  and  suffered  untold  anxiety; 
to  leave  again  at  once  without  preparation  or  time  to  make  any, 
is  more  than  I  supposed  it  possible  you  could  ask  me.  If  you 
will  give  me  your  word  of  honor  I  shall  return  on  Wednesday, 
I  will  go.     Awaiting  reply 

Yours  very  truly 

Nellie  Mortimer  DeVere." 

Additions  were  made  to  the  company.  One  of  the  most 
noticeable  was  Miss  Sydney  Cowell,  a  capable  and  experi- 
enced young  actress  of  what,  in  the  old  "lines  of  business," 
were  called  "Chambermaid"  parts  —  impossible  charac- 
ters who  in  old  comedies  invent  plans  for  deceiving  un- 
reasonable guardians,  aiding  sincere  lovers,  and  effecting 


I90  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Indispensable  elopements ;  and  who,  after  conferring  last- 
ing happiness  on  the  deserving,  are  rewarded  with  the 
hand  of  the  vulgar  lout  called  "the  comic  man."  There 
were  offers  of  which  Mr.  Daly  did  not  avail  himself.  The 
agents  of  Mr.  Montague  wrote  that  at  the  expiration  of  the 
run  of  "Clancarty"  at  Wallack's  he  would  be  free  to 
engage  elsewhere.  The  well-known  John  T.  Raymond 
(Colonel  Sellers)  applied  for  himself  and  wife. 

There  was  no  lack  of  plays.  They  came  from  Henry 
Bergh  ("PecuHar  People"),  Davidge  ("Our  Circle"), 
Henry  Morford  ("Mothers-in-Law"),  Edouard  Cadol 
("Grandmamma,"  —  through  Coudert  Brothers,  —  which 
was  accepted),  and  H.  J.  Byron  ("Our  Boys," — through 
T.  H.  French,  —  also  accepted). 

An  extraordinary  venture  for  that  age  (1875)  was  taking 
the  whole  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  Company  to  the  Pacific 
coast.  They  arrived  in  San  Francisco  July  21,  and 
found  It  "cold-hearted."  As  every  regular  theatre  was 
occupied  they  had  to  play  in  a  concert  hall  and  fit  their 
scenery  to  its  platform.  Augustin  was  soon  In  despair 
with  Piatt's  Hall : 

"I  would  as  soon  fasten  my  scenery  to  the  ceiling  of  a  parlor 
...  I  hired  it  for  two  nights,  and  then  finding  Maguire's 
Minstrel  Hall  unoccupied,  I  hired  that  at  the  rental  of  $500 
per  week.  To  this  the  people  have  come  in  partial  numbers. 
,  .  .  California  may  be  the  land  of  milk  and  honey,  but  San 
Francisco  as  I  have  found  it  so  far  is  the  city  of  gall  and  vine- 
gar." 

He  found  illiberal  criticisms  and  sneers  in  the  press  which 
he  attributed  to  rivals  on  the  ground. 

The  sensation  for  a  tourist  In  San  Francisco  was  to  be 
escorted  through  Chinatown  by  the  police,  and  he  describes 
the  experience  : 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  191 

"Within  a  block  and  a  half  of  the  very  Wall  Street  of  this 
City  you  walk  into  a  maze  of  streets  &  alleys  which  swarm  with 
another  people  and  quiver  with  a  new  life  &  other  motives. 
Strangely  enough,  the  only  Europeans  you  meet  in  this  quarter 
appear  to  be  simply  sightseers  like  yourself.  The  few  squares 
out  of  the  very  heart  of  the  city  which  are  given  up  to  these 
Asiatics  seem  to  be  wholly  surrendered  to  them  ;  &  no  other 
stores,  no  other  dwellings,  no  other  announcements,  no  other 
business,  pleasure,  customs  or  manners  are  to  be  met  with  over 
a  stretch  of  city  which  is  but  two  blocks  wide  by  about  seven 
long. 

I  wandered  over  this  strange  city  within  a  city  last  Sunday 
afternoon  —  and  passing  in  an  instant  out  of  the  quiet  &  repose 
of  the  Christian  town  I  was  plunged  at  once  into  a  very  hive  of 
active  busy  bees,  all  crowd,  all  bustle,  but  noiseless  &  harm- 
less. Every  shop  was  open  &  the  sidewalks  &  the  buildings 
swarmed  with  Chinese  in  their  native  garb.  I  watched  the 
gamblers  buying  in  a  lottery  &  I  noted  the  eager  opium  drunk- 
ard purchasing  his  thimble-full  of  ecstasy  &  hurrying  homeward 
with  his  treasure.  Tailors  were  hard  at  work,  none  disdaining 
the  'Melican'  sewing  machine,  &  cobblers  on  the  sidewalk 
patching  up  the  high-soled  shoes.  The  basements  seemed 
given  up  to  the  barber  fraternity,  &  in  every  other  one  I  saw 
the  natives  getting  their  heads  shaved.  The  butcher  &  baker 
shops  were  all  full  of  custom  too,  &  the  little  scraps  of  dirty 
raw  &  dirtier  cooked  meats  that  were  displayed  &  bought  & 
sold  drove  me  at  last  by  their  odors  to  my  own  civilized  atmos- 
phere. At  night,  I  took  in  the  Chinese  theatre,  both  before 
and  behind  the  scenes,  but  of  that  —  anon." 

In  the  third  week  the  manager  still  complained  of  the 
indifference  of  the  press,  which  he  ascribed  either  to  parti- 
sanship or  inability  to  appreciate  the  school  of  acting 
which  he  had  brought  from  the  East,  while  acknowledging 
that  he  had  a  sure  (though  small)  circle  of  intelligent 
patrons  which  attended  nearly  every  performance.  Each 
production  made  an  emphatic  success  with  these  audiences, 


192  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

but  elicited  not  even  decent  treatment  from  the  papers. 
Yet  Virginia  City  and  Salt  Lake  City  were  warmly  appre- 
ciative. The  fact  is  that  the  discouraging  result  of 
the  San  Francisco  trip  must  remain  a  mystery. 

He  and  his  company  were  taken  down  into  the  mines 
of  Virginia  City  to  pick  up  specimens  of  the  Bonanza  with 
their  own  hands.  In  Salt  Lake  City  the  public  was  en- 
thusiastic : 

"Salt  Lake  City,  August  22/75. 

.  .  .  The  people  cried  for  more  of  us,  and  I'm  sorry  we  could 
not  stay.  I  called  on  Brigham  (Young)  yesterday  and  met 
General  Sheridan  and  invited  him  to  the  theatre  in  the  even- 
ing. Brigham  has  attended  every  performance,  and  when  I 
saw  him  he  said  that  the  performance  of  'Saratoga'  was  the  first 
'live  theatre'  he  had  seen  for  ten  years.  He  is  a  shaky  old 
man,  and  I  guess  hasn't  got  above  ten  years  more  'wickedness' 
into  him.  The  theatre  is  a  very  fine  one,  very  much  like  the 
old  Bowery  in  its  best  days.  The  town  and  houses  remind 
me  much  of  a  Southern  city  —  very  dusty  and  dowdy,  and  a 
mountain  spring  gives  a  rivulet  to  each  main  street  which  runs 
perpetually  in  the  place  where  gutters  usually  are.  I  attended 
the  tabernacle  to-day  and  heard  Apostle  Hyde  discourse  on  the 
holiness  of  Mormonism  —  saw  the  wives  and  the  elders,  and 
a  'sicker'  looking  set  I  never  beheld." 


CHAPTER  XV 

First  engagement  of  the  Voices  with  Daly.  "The  Big  Bonanza." 
The  Mexican  Juvenile  Opera  Troupe  and  infant  prima  donna. 
Company  engaged  by  Daly  for  season  of  1 875-1 876.  Barrymore 
and  Miss  Jeffreys  Lewis.  Opening  play  enjoined  by  Wallack  and 
"Saratoga"  substituted.  John  Brougham's  prologue.  Oakey 
Hall  appears  for  Wallack.  Injunction  dissolved.  "Our  Boys" 
produced  —  a  great  hit.  Edwin  Booth's  engagement  postponed. 
Booth's  preparations.  His  idea  of  "light"  parts.  His  first  appear- 
ance since  his  theatre  was  closed.  Gratifying  reception.  "  Rich- 
ard H"  after  fifty  years.  Receipts  of  performance.  Miss  Daven- 
port plays  Pauline  and  Katherine.  Daly's  observations.  Re-entry 
of  Miss  Clara  Morris  in  "The  New  Leah."  Retires  after  one 
week.  Stop-gaps.  Psychology  of  audiences.  Production  of 
"Pique."  It  is  given  238  times.  Libels  and  a  libel  suit.  Chief- 
Justice  Daly  cross-examined.  George  the  Count  Joannes  anxious 
to  testify.  Visitors  to  the  play.  Miss  Davenport's  opportunity 
at  last.  Offenbach.  Burning  of  Castle  Garden.  Anniversary 
of  the  "  Melville  Troupe."  End  of  the  long  run  of  "  Pique."  Miss 
Georgiana  Drew  joins  the  company.  Benefits  for  the  chief  per- 
formers. Also  for  the  manager,  who  has  an  illumination  and  an 
accident.  Sleighride  and  supper.  The  great  Moody  and  Sankey 
revival.  Herr  Cline.  Daly's  only  portrait.  Daughter  of  James 
W.  Lingard.  A  spectre  of  the  past,  Edward  Eddy.  Death  of 
Charlotte  Cushman,  A.  T.  Stewart,  and  Barney  Williams.  Con- 
flict of  laws.  Debut  of  Mayor  Hall  as  an  actor,  and  the  result. 
Miss  Anna  Dickinson.  Bret  Harte  at  work  upon  a  play.  A 
drama  by  Justice  Barrett  and  Mrs.  Barrett.  Wallack  accepts  it. 
Produced  seven  years  later  and  played  for  two  weeks. 

While  the  company  was  in  San  Francisco,  the  bright 
and  attractive  troupe  known  as  "The  Yokes"  began  in 
August  (1875)  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  with  the 
well-known  "Belles  of  the  Kitchen"  and  followed  with 
"A  Bunch  of  Berries."  All  the  Vokes  appeared  — 
Frederick,   Fawdon,   Jessie,   Victoria,   and   Rosina  —  the 

193 


194 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 


latter  then  as  afterwards  aptly  described  as  "full  of  fun, 
merriment  and  mischief."  When  they  left,  there  was 
sufficient  of  the  Daly  Company  on  the  spot  to  give  a 
performance  of  "The  Big  Bonanza"  with  a  wholly  new 
cast  —  Owen  Fawcett  playing  Lewis'  part,  Whiting 
Fisher's,  Miss  Jewett  Miss  Davenport's,  and  Mr.  Maurice 
Barrymore  Mr.  Drew's.  This  was  Barrymore's  debut, 
and  Mr.  Daly  notes  that  he  was  "liked  fairly."  Then 
there  was  a  "Mexican  Juvenile  Opera  Troupe"  of  child 
vocalists  under  ten  years  of  age.  They  gave  "La  Grande 
Duchesse"  in  marvellously  entertaining  style,  the  prima 
donna  Nina  Carmen  y  Moron  being  a  finished  actor  of 
eight  years,  and  the  Wanda,  Nina  Guadaloupe,  aged  six, 
carrying  off  most  of  the  honors. 

As  given  in  the  bills  of  the  play,  Daly's  Company  this 
season,  1875-1876,  comprised  : 


Miss  Clara  Morris 

"  Fanny  Davenport 

"  Jeffreys  Lewis 

"  Sara  Jewett 

"  Emily  Rigl 

"  Alice  Grey 

"  Nellie  Mortimer 

"  Sydney  Cowell 

"  May  Nuney 

"  Kate  Holland 

"  Florence  Wood 

"  Stella  Congdon 

"  Fanny  Francis 

"  Clara  Jamieson 

"  Josephine  Bonne 

"  Mary  Bowne 

"  A.  Griffiths 

"  Bijou  Heron 

Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert 
Mr.  John  Brougham 


Mr.  James  Lewis 

"  William  Davidge 

"  Charles  Fisher 

"  D.  H.  Harkins 

"  Frank  Hardenbergh 

"  Maurice  Barrymore 

"  John  Drew 

"  D.  Whiting 

"  G.  F.  DeVere 

"  George  Parkes 

"  Charles  Rockwell 

"  B.  T.  Ringgold 

"  Owen  Fawcett 

"  F.  Chapman 

"  Frank  Bennett 

"  F.  De  Veau 

"  Geo.  Gilbert 

"  Beekman 

"  Eytinge 

"  John  Moore,  Stage  Manager 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  195 

Such  a  force  Is  unheard  of  in  these  days,  when  theatrical 
management  is  in  the  hands,  not  of  a  single  person  with 
one  theatre,  but  of  a  commercial  concern  with  a  "chain 
of  theatres,"  each  of  its  "stands"  being  supplied  in  turn 
with  a  play  and  a  company  strictly  limited  to  the  require- 
ments of  that  piece.  With  such  thrifty  management  a 
play  can  be  continued  to  comparatively  small  business 
for  a  long  time  without  loss.  It  required  full  houses, 
however,  to  pay  the  expenses  of  companies  like  Wallack's, 
Daly's,  and  the  Union  Square,  which  had  to  be  engaged 
for  the  season  and  to  be  adapted  to  every  change  of 
entertainment.  Mr.  Daly's  range  of  plays,  embracing 
the  emotional,  the  melodramatic,  Shakespeare,  old  com- 
edy, and  now  German  modern  comedy,  required  more 
than  an  ordinary  stock  force.  Clara  Morris  was  to  ap- 
pear in  a  brief  engagement,  and  she  was  to  be  announced 
as  a  member  of  the  company.  Maurice  Barrymore 
was  from  London,  as  was  Miss  Jeffreys  Lewis.  Miss 
Lewis  had  appeared  two  years  before  at  the  Lyceum 
Theatre  in  a  version  of  Hugo's  great  romance  "Notre 
Dame."  She  was  a  beauty  of  the  Spanish  type,  admi- 
rably fitted  for  Esmeralda^  and  was  as  pleasing  in  dramatic 
parts  as  her  petite  blond  sister  Catherine  became  in 
musical  pieces  four  years  later  at  Daly's. 

The  opening  play  was  to  be  H.  J.  Byron's  "Our  Boys," 
but  an  injunction  procured  by  Wallack  restrained  its 
production,  and  the  old  favorite  "Saratoga"  was  revived 
on  less  than  a  week's  notice,^  with  a  capital  prologue 
written  and  spoken  by  John  Brougham,  in  which  the 
above-mentioned    law    proceedings    are    referred    to : 

It  strikes  me  now  that  something  I  should  say 
About  the  recent  much  disputed  play; 

1  Sept.  13,  1875. 


196  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

And  so  I  would,  but  it  is  hard  to  tell 

The  facts.     What  with  Michaelis  and  Michel, 

The  French  in  France  and  French  here  in  New  York, 

With  all  the  legal  enigmatic  work 

Of  affidavits  and  injunctions  many 

(I  wonder  if  they're  understood  by  any) 

So  warped  and  twisted,  that,  beyond  a  doubt, 

The  rights  or  wrongs  no  fellow  can  make  out. 

Old  York  and  Lancaster  once  came  to  blows, 

And  the  fierce  conflict  from  two  roses  rose. 

One  Rose,  through  agents,  and  sub-agents,  now 

Arouses  a  right  royal  kind  of  row 

By  selling  to  two  parties,  nothing  loath, 

And  in  the  sale,  of  course,  including  both. 

The  very  smartest  salesman  you  might  get,  or 

Colonel  Sellers,  couldn't  sell  them  better. 

Why  they  don't  pass  a  law  such  things  to  stop 

And  simplify  the  literary  swap. 

Leaving  no  loophole  for  chicane  to  use, 

But  plainly  say  what's  what  and  which  is  whose,  — 

Nor  fill  with  gall  the  managerial  cup. 

Is  —  a  conundrum,  and  I  give  it  up. 

Meanwhile  our  chief,  to  all  this  adverse  luck 

Opposes  his  indomitable  pluck. 

Untiring  industry  and  active  brain. 

With  courage  resolute,  to  yet  maintain 

The  fight  against  all  odds,  and  will  prevail. 

His  lexicon  "knows  no  such  word  as  'fail.'" 

Before  the  week  w^as  out,  the  litigation  was  disposed 
of  in  favor  of  Mr.  Daly.  Mr.  Wallack's  side  was  pre- 
sented by  A.  Oakey  Hall,  but  the  injunction  which  he 
had  procured  for  Wallack  was  dissolved  on  the  hearing 
by  Justice  Charles  Donohue.  The  question  was  whether 
Mr.  French,  the  agent  of  Mr.  Byron,  had  authority  to 
sell  the  play  to  Wallack  in  case  the  terms  of  a  prior  sale 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  197 

to  Daly  had  not  been  complied  with  to  French's  satisfac- 
tion. The  case  turned  upon  the  wording  of  the  written 
power  held  by  the  latter,  and  it  was  found  to  be  limited 
actually  to  a  sale  to  Daly,  and  that  that  sale  had  already 
been  made  admitted  of  no  dispute.  "Our  Boys"  being 
thus  released,  it  was  immediately  produced  at  the  Fifth 
Avenue.^ 

Its  success  showed  how  undying  is  the  interest  attach- 
ing to  the  oldest  themes  of  the  drama.  Two  youths  of 
widely  different  temperaments  and  ranks  of  society  fall 
in  love  with  charming  girls  who  are  not  the  wives  picked 
out  for  them  by  their  stern  parents.  As  the  youths 
firmly  persist  in  choosing  love  with  poverty  in  preference 
to  riches  without  affection,  the  obstinate  parents  after 
a  long  struggle  are  forced  to  surrender.  Such  is  the 
simple  but  eternal  tale,  and  the  whole  world  (excepting 
parents  immediately  interested)  is  found  to  be  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  impulses  of  the  heart.  Maurice  Barry- 
more  was  cordially  accepted  in  the  role  of  the  honest, 
obtuse,  "pig-headed,"  and  faithful  Talbot  Champneys, 
who  disappoints  his  father  Sir  Geoffrey  by  offering  him- 
self to  the  penniless  but  clever  Mary  Melrose.  As  for  the 
representative  of  that  bewitching  young  lady,  it  was 
observed  that  there  was  "no  one  living  who  could  play 
parts  such  as  Mary  Melrose  like  Fanny  Davenport."  ^ 
Harkins,  as  the  spirited  and  progressive  son  of  the  mll- 
lionnaire  retired  butterman  Middlewick,  was  the  impas- 
sioned lover  of  the  aristocratic  and  sentimental  Violet, 
portrayed  by  Miss  Jeffreys  Lewis.  The  irate  parents, 
Fisher  and  Lewis,  representing  antagonisms  in  the  social 
order,  found  a  common  bond  in  their  determination  to 
disinherit  their  rebellious  offspring. 

Popular  as  well  as  critical  favor  was  immediately  ex- 

1  Sept.  18,  1875.  »  A^.  r.  Times. 


198  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

tended  to  the  play,  which  was  as  brightly  written  as  it 
was  happily  conceived.  C.  W.  Carleton,  the  publisher, 
wrote  of  "a  delightful  couple  of  hours"  spent  in  witness- 
ing it.  Oakey  Hall  said  to  me:  "It  was  well  worth 
fighting  for,  wasn't  it.^"  It  was  so  well  worth  it  that 
when  it  was  played  in  Cincinnati  by  a  Daly  company 
a  further  attempt  was  made  to  enjoin  it,  and  Fiske  was 
sent  out  to  protect  it,  and  succeeded.  Two  offshoots  of 
the  company  went  touring  this  season  —  one  headed  by 
Miss  Jewett  giving  "The  Big  Bonanza,"  and  the  other 
later,  led  by  James  Lewis,  playing  "Our  Boys." 

Edwin  Booth  was  to  appear  on  October  third  to  fill  an 
engagement  made  in  June,  but  Mr.  Booth  unfortunately 
met  with  an  accident  which  delayed  his  appearance  until 
the  twenty-fifth.  The  accident  occurred  at  Booth's 
summer  home,  Cos  Cob,  Connecticut,  early  in  September. 
He  was  thrown  from  his  carriage,  his  arm  broken,  and 
internal  injuries  sustained  from  which  at  first  the  gravest 
results  were  feared.  Happily  they  were  not  realized, 
but  he  was  confined  to  his  house  for  nearly  two  months. 
The  engagement  with  Daly  was  by  letter,  and  it  will  be 
seen  what  Booth  regarded  as  strenuous  parts  and  light 
ones  : 

"Cos  Cob,  Conn.,  June  2d,  1875. 
Augustin  Daly,  Esqr. 

Dear  Sir, 

Mr.  McVicker  submitted  to  me  your  two  propositions  for 
an  engagement  of  six  weeks  (beginning  Octr.  4th)  at  your 
theatre,  viz : 

Six  thousand  dollars  per  week  (seven  performances)  or : 
Half  the  gross  receipts  up  to  fifteen  hundred  dollars  and  two 
thirds  of  all  over  that  amount.  Either  will  satisfy  me,  and  I 
leave  to  you  the  preference. 

I  would  like  to  have  your  reply  to  this,  (stating  your  choice 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  199 

of  the  terms  you  offer)  a  list  of  the  characters  you  wish  me  to 
perform  and  the  names  of  the  principal  ladies  &  gentlemen  you 
will  furnish. 

All  necessary  information  regarding  costumes  &  scenery  for 
the  plays  you  select  I  will  be  ready  to  give  your  artists  at  any 
time  you  may  appoint. 

I  think  it  advisable  to  change  the  bill  frequently  —  I  am  not 
loath  to  work  'my  hardest,'  but  when  I  perform  a  'heavy'  part 
at  the  matinee  I  must  have  a  light  one  for  the  evening  or  vice 
versa.  The  following  are  the  characters  which  comprise  my 
repertory.  Those  marked  'light'  are  good  for  matinees  or 
Saturday  nights. 

Hamlet 

Shylock Light 

Macbeth 
Othello 

lago Light 

Lear 

Wolsey Light 

Richard  2d 

Richard  3rd 

Benedick 

Bertuccio  in  The  Fool's  Revenge 

Pescara  in  The  Apostate  (Light) 

Brutus  1 

Cassius  /Julius  Caesar     (All  light) 

Antony  J 

Brutus  (Fall  of  Tarquin) 

Richelieu 

Claude  Melnotte Light 

Stranger  &  Petruchio  (double  bill). . .  .Light 

Don  Cesar Light 

Sir  Giles  Overreach 
Sir  Edward  Mortimer 

Several  of  these  would  give  us  trouble  on  your  stage  on  account 
of  'armies'  &  'fiddlers'  —  perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  omit 


200  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

Richd  3d  &  Macbeth.  Richard  in  the  original  would  be  a 
novelty,  however ;  so  I  intend  to  do  it  —  unless  you  prefer 
Colley  Gibber. 

An  early  reply  with  full  particulars  will  greatly  oblige 

Yours  truly 

Edwin  Booth." 

On  June  4  Mr.  Daly  replied,  deciding  to  give  Mr. 
Booth  one-half  the  gross  receipts  of  every  performance 
up  to  ^1500  and  two-thirds  of  all  above  ^1500;  and  sug- 
gesting the  following  programme  : 

ist  week     Hamlet  5  nights  &  matinee. 

Merchant  of  Venice  Saturday  night. 
2d    week     Richelieu  5  nights  &  matinee. 

Stranger  &c.  Saturday  night. 
3rd  week     Othello  5  nights  &  matinee. 

lago  Saturday  night. 
4th  week     King  Lear  5  nights  &  matinee. 

Apostate  Saturday  night. 
5th  week     Richard  H  5  nights  &  matinee. 

Glaude  Melnotte  Saturday  night. 
6th  week     Macbeth  4  times. 

Brutus  2  times. 

"  Gedar  CliflF,  Gos  Cob,  Conn.,  Sept.  6th,  1875. 

Augustin  Daly  Esqr. 

Dear  Sir, 

I  send  herewith  the  prompt  books  of  the  plays  selected  for 
my  engagement.  The  bearer,  (Henry  Fisher)  Is  thoroughly 
familiar  with  all  the  sets,  scenes,  &c.  &c.  &  can  render  great 
assistance  to  your  stage  manager  should  such  service  be 
required. 

I  would  prefer  to  confer  with  you  before  the  'casts'  are  de- 
cided upon  definitely  —  for  there  are  several  parts  which 
appear  to  be  of  little  consequence  but  which  are  indeed  very 
important;    such  as  the  Fool  in  Lear,  Wilford  in  Iron  Chest, 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  201 

Fra7i(ois  in  Richelieu,  are  rendered  ridiculous  when  performed 
by  women,  &  I  particularly  desire  them  to  be  given  to  young 
men.  The  Fool  should  be  a  man  who  has  both  humor  &  pathos 
&  be  able  to  sing;  otherwise  the  part  is  better  omitted.  I  am 
told  they  have  at  the  Walnut  St.  just  the  man  for  such  a  part. 
I  do  not  know  his  name ;  last  season  there  was  a  Mr.  Howard 
there  who  looked  and  I  am  sure  can  act  the  character  with 
eifect. 

I  am  still  too  feeble  to  use  a  pen  &  scrawl  as  best  I  can  with 
a  pencil.  My  recovery  has  been  very  rapid,  &  daily  I  gain 
more  strength.  I  am  however  barely  able  to  totter  about 
without  assistance.  Next  Monday  will  decide  whether  or  no 
I  shall  be  able  to  be  *on  time.'  I  think  there  is  no  doubt  of 
it,  for  when  I  begin  to  recuperate  I  do  it  in  dead  earnest.  All 
pain  is  gone,  and  my  principal  difficulty  lies  in  the  stomach, 
where  I  received  the  blow  which  gave  such  a  terrible  shock  to 
my  system. 

Hoping  your  new  play  may  be  so  successful  that  should  I 
unfortunately  be  unable  to  begin  at  the  appointed  time  it  will 
carry  you  safely  over  the  'gap,' 

I  am  truly  yours 
Edwin  Booth." 

"Cedar  Cliff,  Cos  Cob,  Conn.,  Septr.  15th,  1875. 

My  dear  Mr.  Daly, 

I  hoped  ere  this  to  tell  you  there  would  be  no  doubt  of  my 
ability  to  begin  my  engagement  at  the  appointed  date,  but  tho' 
my  recovery  —  up  to  a  certain  point  —  was  rapid  it  now  pro- 
gresses very  slowly;  I  am  yet  unable  to  endure  any  exertion 
beyond  a  gentle  walk  about  the  garden,  nor  can  I  rise  from  my 
bed  without  assistance.  My  broken  arm  is  so  stiff  that  I 
cannot  move  it,  and  every  attempt  I  make  to  inflate  my  lungs 
causes  great  pain. 

I  fear  I  would  break  down  after  the  first  night  if  not  during 
the  first  performance  unless  the  opening  is  deferred  for  at  least 
two  weeks. 


202  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

My  surgeon,  who  till  today  has  been  more  sanguine  than 
myself,  now  thinks  as  I  do  and  will  write  you  on  the  subject. 

It  will  be  far  better  to  lose  the  two  weeks  than  by  any  failure 
of  mine  to  ruin  the  whole  engagement,  and  I  sincerely  hope  — 
serious  as  the  loss  will  be  to  me  —  that  you  will  be  secured  by 
the  successful  run  of  your  new  play. 

Concerning  the  casts  you  have  sent  me  I  hardly  know  what 
to  say.  I  remember  Mr.  Hardenbergh  more  as  a  personator 
of  comic  than  serious  characters,  and  Brougham  in  sentiment 
seems  queer.  For  the  rest  I  know  only  Fisher,  Harkins,  Ring- 
gold, Parkes  &  Davidge. 

I  wish  I  had  —  at  our  first  interview  —  mentioned  several 
actors  who,  I  am  sure,  would  give  great  strength  to  the  cast 
of  Shakesperian  plays;  I  intended  to  do  so,  but  as  time  slipped 
by  so  swiftly  the  subject  dropped  out  of  my  memory. 

The  only  changes  I  can  now  suggest  are — ist,  Florinda; 
2nd,  Joseph.  The  former  requires  more  power  than  Lady 
Macbeth,  and  I  fear  Miss  Jewett  is  not  strong  enough  to  endure 
so  great  a  strain;  the  3rd  &  4th  acts  demand  as  much  strength 
as  the  4th  act  of  Richelieu,  indeed  the  whole  weight  of  the  play 
is  on  her  shoulders;  Pescara  is  but  a  mere  'filler-in'  compared 
with  Florinda  and  Hemeya.  I  should  say  that  Miss  Lewis  would 
be  more  suitable  for  this  part,  &  Miss  Jewett  (if  she  sings)  for 
Ophelia. 

For  Joseph  Mr.  Fisher  would  be  nearer  the  mark  than  Mr. 
Davidge  —  if  Fisher  will  give  a  surly  bluntness,  a  sort  of 
'ragged  edge'  to  the  character;  funny  Josephs  mar  all  the  deli- 
cate touches,  and  some  of  the  strongest  points  of  Richelieu. 

Gomez  (in  the  Apostate)  is  a  very  important  &  strongly 
marked  character;  &  if  Mr.  Hamilton  (whom  I  do  not  know) 
is  capable  of  performing  it  he  can  surely  do  Hxiguet  well ;  I 
see  that  part  is  left  blank. 

If  I  knew  your  people  I  might  select  one  for  Francois;  Ring- 
gold once  looked  the  character,  but  I  have  not  seen  him  for 
some  years ;  he  certainly  can  act  it  well  —  if  he  is  not  too  fat. 
Orleans  is  of  less  importance  —  your  Rosencrantz  or  Guilden- 
stern  can  carry  that. 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  203 

This  is  all  I  can  suggest  at  present  —  of  course  if  I  were 
better  acquainted  with  your  company  I  might  do  better. 

For  the  Fool  I  am  at  a  stand ;  a  man  like  Pateman  or  Becket 
would  just  fit  the  part;  Walcot  told  me  he  had  engaged  such 
a  comedian  for  the  Walnut  in  Howard's  place,  who  might  be 
borrowed  for  a  few  nights. 

Be  assured  that  nothing  less  than  positive  inability  to  ren- 
der justice  to  you,  the  public  and  myself  could  induce  me  to 
postpone  my  New  York  engagement  for  a  day,  but  alas  !  tho' 
the  spirit  be  willing  the  flesh  is  weak,  and  I  must  submit. 

Very  truly  yours 
Edwin  Booth." 

With  regard  to  the  distribution  of  the  parts  about 
which  Mr.  Booth  was  solicitous,  they  were  all  filled  to 
his  satisfaction,  though  the  Fool  in  "Lear"  was  given 
to  a  woman,  Miss  Cowell ;  but  Francois  in  "Richelieu" 
was  given  to  the  youthful  John  Drew,  Florinda  in  "The 
Apostate"  was  intrusted  to  Miss  Jeffreys  Lewis,  and 
Hardenbergh  gave  to  Joseph  in  "Richelieu"  all  the  rug- 
gedness  and  crustiness  required  for  due  effect.  Fisher's 
pere  noble  style  would  have  been  wholly  out  of  keeping 
with  the  part. 

On  October  25,  1875,  the  foremost  actor  of  the  Amer- 
ican stage  stood,  pale  and  collected,  clad  in  the  mourn- 
ing garb  of  Hamlet,  to  receive  an  extraordinary  greeting 
from  a  crowded  house.  He  inclined  his  head  at  the  re- 
newed expressions  of  sincere  affection  which  were  almost 
involuntarily  repeated  when  the  first  musical  accents  fell 
from  his  lips.  This  greeting  was  not  only  extended  to 
the  favorite  who  had  recovered  from  a  dangerous  acci- 
dent, but  was  the  first  the  public  had  been  able  to  give 
him  since  the  financial  misfortune  which  lost  him  his 
splendid  theatre.  It  was  a  doubly  sympathetic  and 
loving  greeting. 


204  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

The  season  had  to  be  reduced  from  six  weeks  to  four 
by  reason  of  Booth's  health.  In  those  four  weeks  Mr. 
Daly  produced  ten  plays  for  him:  "Hamlet,"  "Othello," 
"Richard  II,"  "The  Merchant  of  Venice,"  "King  Lear," 
"The  Taming  of  the  Shrew,"  "The  Apostate,"  "The 
Stranger,"  "Ric"helieu,"  and  "The  Lady  of  Lyons."  In 
three  performances  of  "Othello"  Booth  played  I  ago  to 
Harkins'  Moor.  Miss  Davenport  returned  from  her 
star  engagement  to  appear  at  two  matinees,  playing 
Pauline  to  Booth's  Claude  at  one,  and  Mrs.  Haller  and 
Katherine  to  his  Stranger  and  Petruchio  at  the  other. 
The  young  John  Drew's  share  in  these  performances 
was  Guildenstern^  Francois,  Ludovico,  Sir  Pierce  of  Exton, 
and  The  King  of  France.  The  principal  ladies  who  sup- 
ported Booth  throughout  were  Miss  Jeffreys  Lewis,  Miss 
Emily  Rigl,  Miss  Sydney  Cowell,  Miss  Alice  Grey,  and 
Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert,  and  the  gentlemen  were  Harkins, 
Fisher,    Barrymore,    Davidge,    and   Hardenbergh. 

One  of  the  novel  features  of  the  engagement  was  the 
revival  of  "Richard  II,"  for  the  first  time  in  about  half 
a  century  in  New  York ;  the  full  cast  of  the  piece  is  there- 
fore of  interest :  Richard  II,  Edwin  Booth ;  Duke  of 
York  and  Duke  of  Lancaster,  uficles  to  the  King,  Frank 
Hardenbergh  and  Charles  Fisher;  Henry  Bolinghroke, 
D.  H.  Harkins;  Duke  of  Aumerle,  M.  Barrymore;  D^^ke 
of  Norfolk,  B.  T.  Ringgold  ;  Earl  of  Surrey,  Mr.  Buxton  ; 
Earl  of  Salisbury,  George  Parkes ;  Earl  of  Berkely,  Mr. 
Johnson  ;  Lord  Fitzzvater,  Mr.  Evans  ;  Bishop  of  Carlisle, 
Mr.  Benson  ;  Ahhot  of  Westminster,  Mr.  Hamilton  ;  Lord 
Marshall,  Mr.  Chamberlain ;  Earl  of  Northumberland, 
Mr.  Forrest;  Sir  Pierce  of  Exton,  John  Drew;  Lord 
Ross,  Mr.  Nichols;  Lord  Willoughby,  Mr.  Emden ; 
Busby,  Mr.  Allen;  Bagot,  Mr.  Kane;  Green,  Mr.  Illion; 
Groom,  John  Moore  ;    Keeper,  Mr.  De  Veau  ;    The  Queen, 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  205 

Miss  Emily  Rigl ;  Duchess  of  GlosUr,  Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert ; 
Duchess  of  York,  Miss  Alice  Grey ;  ladies  attending  on 
the  Queen,  Misses  Bowne  and  Wood. 

The  initial  performance  of  "  Richard  II "  was  on  Novem- 
ber 12,  1875,  Booth  prepared  the  acting  version.  The 
four  performances  which  were  given  satisfied  the  interest 
or  curiosity  of  students  of  the  drama  and  did  not  attract 
all  the  admirers  of  Booth. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  know  the  pecuniary  results  of 
this,  one  of  the  most  important  of  Booth's  engagements 
in  New  York :  Hamlet  was  played  nine  times  to  an 
average  of  ^1855;  lago  three  times  to  an  average  of 
^1696;  Richelieu  five  times  to  an  average  of  ^1675; 
Shylock  once  to  ^1503;  Othello  once  to  ^1446;  King 
Lear  three  times  to  an  average  of  ^1436;  Pescara  twice 
to  an  average  of  ^1125;  and  Richard  II  four  times  to 
an  average  of  5^731.  The  largest  receipts  of  the  engage- 
ment were  at  the  two  matinees  in  which  Miss  Davenport 
played  with  Mr.  Booth  —  "The  Lady  of  Lyons"  drew 
$2iy6  and  "The  Stranger"  and  "Katherine  and  Petru- 
chio,"  ^2152.  The  gross  receipts  of  all  the  performances, 
thirty  in  number,  were  ^47,909,  or  an  average  of  ^1597. 
The  prices  were  at  the  old  rate  of  a  dollar  and  a  half  for 
orchestra  seats, 

Mr.  Daly  was  most  lavish  in  the  scenic  mounting  and 
costuming  of  the  ten  plays,  for  which  complete  tableaux 
had  to  be  painted,  wardrobes  provided,  and  mechanical 
devices  installed.  These  ate  up  all  Daly's  profits.  His 
observation  upon  Booth's  choice  of  plays  was  :  "The 
cry  is  still  for  'Hamlet,'  yet  Booth  persists  in  varying  his 
performances"  ;  but  afterwards,  of  "King  Lear,"  he  said  : 
"One  of  Mr,  Booth's  most  decided  and  immediate  suc- 
cesses ;  enthusiasm  unbounded."  "The  Apostate,"  he 
records,    was    "not    suited    to    new-fashioned    audiences. 


2o6  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

and  coldly  received."  He  praises  Harkins  in  Othello 
and  Edgar,  but  says  his  lago  was  "bad."  Booth's  fre- 
quent variations  of  programme  are  ascribed  to  Mrs. 
Booth's  advice.  The  manager  notes  with  regard  to 
"The  Merchant  of  Venice,"  "The  hurried  performances 
do  no  credit  to  the  theatre." 

Immediately  after  Mr.  Booth's  departure,  Miss  Clara 
Morris  returned  to  Daly's  stage.  The  play  selected  for 
her  appearance  was  "Leah  the  Forsaken,"  but  the  law- 
yers representing  Miss  Kate  Bateman  objected  that  the 
use  of  that  title  infringed  Miss  Bateman's  rights.  To 
avoid  the  delay  of  more  legal  disputation,  which  seemed 
to  hang  upon  the  manager  this  season  like  the  Cossacks 
upon  the  flanks  of  Napoleon's  army  in  the  Russian 
campaign,  Mosenthal's  powerful  drama  was  called  "The 
New  Leah  "  ;  and  the  curtain  rose  upon  the  familiar  scenes 
on  the  evening  of  November  22,  1875,  Miss  Morris 
began  her  season  in  apparently  excellent  health  and 
fine  form,  and  with  every  ambition  to  renew  her  great 
successes,  but  it  was  evident,  from  the  size  of  the  audience 
which  greeted  her  and  the  small  numbers  that  attended 
the  subsequent  presentations  of  the  play,  that  the  fa- 
mous part  of  Miss  Bateman  was  not,  in  Miss  Morris' 
repertoire,  to  be  an  attraction.  The  opening  night  was 
respectable  only  —  $1096  —  and  the  second  night  but 
^453.  The  third  rose  to  $712.  The  fourth  night  hap- 
pened to  be  Thanksgiving,  and  the  holiday  evening 
brought  ^1975,  but  the  fifth  night  fell  again  to  ^491  and 
the  Saturday  matinee  was  ^630.  On  Saturday  night  Miss 
Morris  was  unable  to  appear  (as  also  at  the  Thanksgiving 
matinee) ;  and  as  she  did  not  care  to  resume  her  part  of  Anne 
Sylvester  in  a  revival  of  "Man  and  Wife,"  she  terminated 
her  engagement  after  the  first  week  of  "The  New  Leah," 
which  she  humorously  described  as  "a  brilliant  failure." 


AuGUSTiN  Daly 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  207 

The  lack  of  public  interest  was  a  complete  surprise 
in  and  out  of  the  theatre.  Daly  was  at  work  upon  a 
new  original  play,  but  the  abrupt  closing  of  Miss  Morris' 
season  again  left  his  stage  unprovided  for.  The  genial 
"Our  Boys"  had  to  be  hurriedly  put  on  again  to  keep  the 
theatre  open,  but  Miss  Davenport  was  out  of  the  cast 
(filling  a  star  engagement),  and  for  a  fortnight  Mr.  Daly 
did  what  he  recorded  as  the  worst  business  in  his  manage- 
ment. 

When  receipts  of  theatrical  entertainments  fall,  it 
is  wonderful  to  observe  the  workings  of  a  law  which,  as 
managers  of  theatres  can  affirm,  has  been  as  clearly  estab- 
lished as  any  discovered  by  Newton  or  Kepler.  Successes, 
of  course,  "play  to  the  capacity  of  the  house" ;  but  why, 
when  bad  business  sets  in  and  the  week  opens  to,  say, 
four  hundred  odd,  that  figure  should  be  maintained  every 
day  until  the  close  of  the  week,  as  if  the  playgoers  had 
some  understanding  to  go  each  night  in  certain  numbers  ; 
and  why  their  mind-waves  should  communicate  the 
intelligence  that  the  next  week  is  to  begin,  say,  at  three 
hundred  and  keep  that  up,  is  a  psychological  problem 
which  yet  awaits  solution. 

The  new  original  play  was  "Pique,"  and  until  its  pro- 
duction this  Fifth  Avenue  season  had  required  a  sort  of 
prestidigitatorial  art  to  keep  it  going;  but  with  "Pique" 
all  was  changed.  After  the  impression  made  by  the 
first  night  ^  —  which  kept  the  audience  willingly  together 
until  after  midnight  —  the  theatre  and  the  play  settled 
down  to  a  run  of  238  performances. 

One  incident  in  the  drama  was  suggested  by  a  passage 
in  Miss  Florence  Marryatt's  novel  "Her  Lord  and  Mas- 
ter." More  than  one  playwright  took  advantage  of  the 
disclosure  of  this  fact  to  profit  by  the  success  of  "Pique" 

1  Dec.  14,  1875. 


2o8  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

and  put  "something  just  as  good"  upon  the  market. 
There  was  a  play  which  the  composer  artfully  copyrighted 
under  the  title  of  "Piqued."  Another  person,  a  journal- 
ist, invented  a  tale  calculated  to  injure  the  theatre  and 
the  manager.  The  story  was  that  a  poor  authoress  had 
left  a  play  at  Daly's  and  had  heard  nothing  more  of  it 
until  she  recognized  its  incidents  in  "Pique";  and  the 
fiction  was  eagerly  seized  upon  and  published  in  a  weekly 
dramatic  paper.  A  libel  suit  followed,  and  the  jury 
rendered  a  verdict  of  over  ^2500  in  favor  of  Mr.  Daly. 

The  subsequent  history  of  this  verdict  may  be  set  down 
here.  The  defendant  was  unable  to  pay  the  judgment, 
which  hung  over  him  for  some  years,  during  which  he 
continued  to  show  his  ill  will.  At  last,  when  he  was  in 
sore  straits  in  a  litigation  with  others,  his  adversaries 
sought  Mr.  Daly  and  endeavored  to  purchase  the  judg- 
ment and  use  it  to  club  their  enemy.  To  their  proposition 
Mr.  Daly  simply  returned  a  refusal.  He  had  vindicated 
his  reputation  and  was  not  looking  for  revenge.  This 
so  changed  the  feeling  of  his  old  foe  that  he  published  a 
complete  retraction,  repeated  more  than  once,  and  was 
always  afterwards  Mr.  Daly's  firm  supporter. 

As  the  damage  inflicted  by  a  libel  is  to  the  reputation 
of  the  plaintiff,  it  is  always  open  to  the  defendant  to 
show  that  his  adversary's  character  is  so  bad  that  it 
cannot  be  affected  by  anything  that  is  said  about  him. 
This  was  attempted  in  the  case  in  question,  and  two  wit- 
nesses were  found  who,  being  called  to  the  stand,  kissed 
the  Book  and  said  that  they  were  acquainted  with  Mr. 
Daly's  reputation  and  that  it  was  bad.  One  of  these 
persons  Mr.  Daly  had  never  heard  of,  and  the  other  was 
the  author  of  "Piqued."  Our  old  friend  Chief  Justice 
Charles  P.  Daly  happened  to  be  holding  Court  at  that 
time,  and  went  over  to  the  Superior  Court  where  the  libel 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  209 

suit  was  tried,  to  support  the  character  of  the  plaintiff. 
The  defendant's  counsel  rose  to  cross-examine  the  ven- 
erable Chief  Justice  in  order  to  show  that,  while  he  might 
be  a  very  good  judge  of  the  character  of  members  of  the 
Bar,  he  was  hardly  an  authority  upon  theatrical  matters  ; 
but  the  first  query,  "I  suppose,  Judge  Daly,  you  are  not 
much  acquainted  with  the  stage  and  people  connected 
with  it?"  met  with  the  unexpected  response,  "On  the 
contrary,  I  am  very  well  acquainted  with  them";  and 
it  speedily  developed  that  the  Chief  Justice  as  an  author- 
ity upon  things  theatrical  was  hardly  surpassed  by  any 
dramatic  historian  of  his  time. 

The  ubiquitous  George  the  Count  Joannes  was  a  spec- 
tator of  the  trial.  He  had  no  disinclination  to  figure  in 
any  important  litigation  of  the  period,  either  as  witness, 
counsel,  or  bystander,  and  he  inscribed  the  following 
epistle  upon  a  sheet  of  legal  cap  : 

"  City  of  New  York,  April  i4th/75. 

No.  23  Chambers  St.     Room  A. 
To  Augustin  Daly  Esq.     Plaintiff. 

L  My  Dear  Sir,  I  am  happy  to  be  of  any  service  to  you, 
in  the  above  pending  action.  I  repeat,  as  a  matter  of  Law,  in 
this  suit,  —  that  you  have  not  to  prove  a  negative;  but  Deft. 
has  to  prove  the  affirmative,  —  that  you  did,  ^c. 

IL  The  Deft,  yesterday  introduced,  as  a  witness,  a  Mr. 
Hallam  —  to  testify  to  that  affirmative,  but  he  could  not  name 
any  person  who  told  him  so.  In  rebuttal,  —  the  Chief  Justice 
was  your  witness,  —  as  to  yr  good  &  honest  character:  —  but, 
as  I  understood,  he  could  not  name  persons:  —  but  from  gen- 
eral repute.  —  The  ruling  of  the  presiding  Judge  was  agt.  Mr. 
Hallam  ;    &  for  the  same  reason,  —  may  reach  the  other  side. 

HI.  If  you  subpoena  me  (&  it  is  not  too  late)  I  can  testify 
upon  that  very  question  :  &  name  persons  who  told  me  as  to 
your  honesty,  viz  my  own  Daughter,  the  Countess  Avonia ; 
the  late  Judge  Dowling,  &  the  late  Edwin  Forrest  Esqr. 


2IO  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

1.  —  Lady  Avonia  from  her  business  relations  with  you. 

2.  — Judge  Dowling,  —  from  general  repute, 

3.  —  Edwin  Forrest  Esq.  —  was  very  positive;  —  &  in 
certain  advice  to  me  professionally,  viz :  He  advised  me  to 
make  a  dramatic  tour,  &  'farewell'  —  through  the  United 
States,  (I  have  never  been  West  &c)  upon  my  leaving  the 
States  ;  —  &  suggested  the  manner  to  carry  it  through  ;  and, 
that  in  18  months,  or  two  years,  —  that  I  would  make  a  profit 
of  $100,000 — &  that  he  would  guarantee  it,  —  ''provided  I 
had  a  skillful  i^  holiest  manager.''  I  named  a  person  whom  I 
knew  to  be  skillful,  but  no  further,  —  Mr.  Forrest  in  his  pecul- 
iar &  brusque  manner  said  'Bah!  he  is  a  chronic  liar  &  a 
chronic  thief!'  Mr.  Forrest  after  a  pause,  —  as  if  reflecting, 
suddenly  said,  'I  will  name  the  man  for  that  dramatic  enter- 
prise ;  —  &  he  is  Mr.  Augustin  Daly,  —  gentlemanly ;  had  dra- 
matic knowledge ;  &  is  an  honest  man,  —  &  one,  in  every 
respect,  you  will  sympathize  with.' 

Now,  this  evidence  is  absolute ;  &  not  lessened  by  my 
speaking  it;  &  will  crush  down  a  dozen  'Hallams'  —  even  of 
the  historian's  family. 

IV.  I  should  be  subpoenaed  —  to  meet  a  question  in  that 
respect,  —  from  Defendant's  Counsel,  though  I  have  a  citizen's 
right;  and  as  Amicus  Curiae;  —  &  as  Counsellor  at  Law,  a 
duty  to  promote,  —  in  open  Court,  —  public  Justice. 

Of  course,  you  will  submit  this  to  your  Counsel  in  this  case; 
—  with  the  legal  compliments  of  his  brother  'in  law,'  — 

Yours  truly.  &c 

George,  The  Count  Joannes 
Of  the  New  York  Supreme  Court  &c." 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  Mr.  Olin,  plaintiff's 
counsel,  did  not  consider  it  necessary  to  call  the  Count 
as  a  witness. 

Among  visitors  to  performances  of  *' Pique"  were 
General  Prado,  President-elect  of  Peru ;  Benson  J. 
Lossing;     Charles    O'Conor ;    Don    Pedro,    Emperor    of 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  211 

Brazil ;  J.  G.  Fair,  the  Bonanza  King,  with  whom  Mr.  Daly- 
renewed  his  California  acquaintance  and  whom  he  enter- 
tained in  the  green  room  after  the  performance ;  and 
lastly  a  certain  well-known  member  of  the  detective 
force,  who  brought  with  him  the  supposed  widow  of  the 
burglar  who  had  kidnapped  Charlie  Ross,  in  the  hope, 
as  he  said,  that  she  might  be  so  moved  "sitting  at  the 
play"  as  to  disclose  the  whereabouts  of  that  infant. 

In  "Pique"  it  may  be  said  that  Miss  Fanny  Davenport 
began  her  career  as  a  star.  It  was  the  first  time  after 
six  years  with  Mr.  Daly's  company  that  she  had  a  wholly 
leading  part.  She  had  been  subordinated  to  Miss  Ethel, 
Miss  Morris,  and  Miss  Dyas  in  turn.  Her  opportunity 
had  come  at  last,  and  the  estimate  of  her  work  by  the 
press  was  so  unanimously  flattering  and  sincere  that 
the  young  girl  enjoyed  her  triumph  to  the  full.  It  must 
have  amused  her,  too,  to  have  to  report  to  her  manager 
that  Mr.  Wallack  invited  her  to  call  and  have  a  chat  with 
an  eye  to  the  next  season ;  and  it  must  have  puzzled 
Wallack  that  such  a  brevet  of  distinction  was  not  appre- 
ciated. A  diverting  incident  due  to  her  nervousness  in 
the  first  performances  of  "Pique"  adds  to  the  traditions 
of  the  stage  one  more  instance  of  laughable  transposi- 
tions of  text,  like  Beauseani's  famous  "It  will  be  all  over 
Sunset  before  Lyons"!  Mabel,  haughtily  addressing 
her  husband  Captain  Standish,  and  demanding  a  candle 
to  light  her  to  bed,  uttered  with  great  force  the  remark- 
able line :  "If  I  must  go  alone,  Captain  Candle,  give  me 
a  standish"!     She  was  hardly  able  to  finish  the  scene. 

Some  changes  took  place  during  the  season.  Little 
Miss  Heron  and  grown-up  Miss  Jewett  left  the  company, 
and  next  year  were  found  at  the  Union  Square.  Mr, 
Daly  once  thought  of  bringing  Offenbach  to  America. 
This   was   now   effected   by   Grau,   who   hired   Gilmore's 


212  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Garden  (now  the  Madison  Square)  for  monster  concerts 
a  la  Jullien.  Offenbach  was  to  receive  $500  per  night. 
He  opened  there  on  May  12,  1876,  and  closed  on  the  22d. 
He  was  next  taken  to  Booth's  for  a  week  to  play  in  con- 
junction with  Aimee.  On  July  7  he  made  his  last  ap- 
pearance in  America.  An  old  landmark,  Castle  Garden, 
was  destroyed  by  fire  on  July  12.  In  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century  it  was  the  favorite  opera-house  of 
New  York,  but  since  1855  had  been  used  as  the  emigrant 
depot.  It  should  have  been  preserved  permanently  for 
summer  entertainments,  as  it  was  the  only  institution 
of  the  kind,  so  located,  in  the  world. 

The  earliest  attempt  of  Augustin  at  public  manage- 
ment has  been  duly  set  forth  in  these  pages,  and  is  recalled 
by  an  entry  in  his  office-book  opposite  the  date  of  April 
6,  1876,  as  follows  : 

"Twenty  years  ago  this  day,  A.  D.  'perpetrated'  his  first 
scheme  of  management.  Hired  the  old  Brooklyn  Museum  and 
introduced  the  'celebrated  Melville  Troupe  of  Juvenile  co- 
medians' to  the  public.  'Toodles,'  'Macbeth'  (2d  act),  "  Pilli- 
coddy.'  A.  D.,  J.  F.  D.,  Will  Sefton,  Fred.  Massey  the  stars. 
Expenses  $76.00.     Receipts  $11.25." 

Miss  Jeffreys  Lewis  having  been  sent  on  tour  with 
"  Pique,"  Miss  Georgiana  Drew,  John's  young  sister,  took 
her  place  on  April  17,  1876,  in  the  sympathetic  part  of 
Mary  Standish.  She  also  played  Clara  Douglas  to  Har- 
kins'  Alfred  Evelyn  at  his  benefit.  These  were  the  days 
of  benefits.  John  Brougham  selected  "The  Serious  Fam- 
ily" for  his,  and  revelled  in  his  old  part  of  Captam  Murphy 
Maguire.  Miss  Davenport  was  the  fascinating  widow 
Mrs.  Delmaine,  Davidge  Sleek,  Barrymore  Torrens^ 
Miss  Drew  Mrs.  Torrens,  and  Mrs.  Gilbert  Lady  Sowerby 
Creamly.     It  was  a  delicious  performance ;    but  that  was 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  213 

not  all,  for  glorious  John  also  gave  as  afterpiece  his  own 
"Pocahontas,"  wielding  the  tomahawk  of  Powhatan, 
with  Miss  Sydney  Cowell  as  Pocahontas,  George  Vining 
Bowers  as  Smith,  Hardenbergh  Rolfe,  and  Mrs.  Gilbert 
Wee-cha-ven-da,  with  one  of  her  inimitable  pas  seuls. 
This  entertainment  was  repeated  for  Davidge's  benefit 
on  May  27. 

At  her  benefit  Miss  Davenport  played  Rosalind, 
Lawrence  Barrett  volunteering  as  Orlando,  F.  L.  Daven- 
port as  Jaques,  and  the  tenor  William  Castle  as  Amiens. 
For  Lewis'  benefit,  "Charity"  was  revived  with  Miss 
Davenport  as  Ruth  Tredgett,  and  Lewis  as  Fitzpartington. 
For  Mr.  Fiske's  benefit  Miss  Davenport  played  Gilberte 
in  "Frou-Frou"  for  the  first  time  in  New  York,  and 
afterwards  Jenny  Leatherlungs  in  the  wild  farce  "Jenny 
Lind  at  Last,"  one  of  Mrs.  Matilda  Wood's  favorite 
parts.  The  entertainment  concluded  with  Brougham 
and  Davidge  in  "The  Siamese  Twins." 

The  last  benefit  of  the  season  was  the  "author's  festi- 
val" on  June  23.  Two  of  his  great  successes  were  given 
—  "Divorce"  at  a  matinee  and  "Pique"  in  the  evening. 
Each  had  achieved  its  two  hundredth  performance. 
The  theatre  was  illuminated,  and  a  facsimile  in  silver 
of  the  regular  reserved  seat  ticket  was  presented  to  each 
lady  of  the  audience.  It  will  not  surprise  anybody  to 
learn  that  Mr.  Daly  took  a  hand  in  the  illumination  him- 
self, with  the  result  told  in  a  letter  to  me  : 

"July  i2th. 
Dear  Brother, 

For  the  first  day  in  nine  I  am  able  to  write  anything  beyond 
signing  a  check.  I  got  a  sprinkling  of  melted  resin  from  a 
torch  on  the  night  of  the  illumination  and  the  joints  of  my  right 
hand  have  been  in  a  flaming  state  ever  since.  A  vigorous 
application  of  linseed  oil,  lime  water,  carbolic  salve,  &c.,  how- 


214  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

ever  kept  the  fever  down  and  I  am  better  now.  .  .  .  This 
morning  I  am  happy  and  free  but  in  a  healthy  'blistered' 
state." 

In  February,  1876,  during  the  run  of  "Pique,"  the 
memorable  revival  meetings  of  Moody  and  Sankey  be- 
gan at  the  Hippodrome  and  lasted  many  weeks  with 
immense  attendance,  which  affected  the  business  of  many 
theatres. 

Now  and  then  I  am  reminded  of  my  brother's  care  for  old 
actors,  and  I  find  that  at  this  period  he  gave  a  place  as 
doorkeeper  to  a  venerable  relic  of  bygone  days  —  Herr 
Cline,  the  tight-rope  dancer. 

In  the  busiest  part  of  the  season  I  got  my  brother 
to  sit  for  his  portrait.  It  was  painted  by  Thomas 
Jansen,  a  Norwegian  artist,  who  was  on  a  visit  to 
America  and  had  some  well-known  New  Yorkers  for 
sitters.  It  was  difficult  to  keep  Augustin  in  repose  long 
enough  to  satisfy  the  painter.  Every  hour  of  his  day 
was  taken  up  by  interviews  with  applicants  for  engage- 
ments, travelling  managers,  etc.,  and  a  mass  of  details 
most  managers  leave  to  subordinates.  No  aspirant  for 
a  place  in  his  company  was  too  humble  to  be  personally 
received. 

I  find  an  almost  spectral  reminder  at  this  time  of  old 
Bowery  days.  Edward  Eddy,  once  the  favorite  of  pit 
and  gallery,  now  a  rover  in  the  tropics,  and  long  a  stranger 
to  New  York,  wrote  : 

"623  Broadway,  N.  Y.     Oct  29th,  '75. 
A.  Daly  Esqr. : 

Can  I  make  an  arrangement  with  you  to  act  'Divorce'  in  a 
few  of  the  Eastern  cities,  not  Boston  of  course.  I  will  place  it 
upon  the  stage  in  a  superior  manner  with  first  class  com- 
pany, &c. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  215 

I  desire  to  give  the  'Two  Orphans'  a  shake,  as  I  am  assured 
that  your  play  can  be  played  to  as  much  or  more  money. 
An  early  answer  will  oblige 

Yours  truly 

Ed.  Eddy. 

P.S.  I  also  desire  to  play  'Divorce'  in  the  West  Indies 
where  I  visit  this  fall.  E   E  " 

Poor  Eddy  went  to  the  West  Indies  and  died  in  King- 
ston, Jamaica,  less  than  two  months  after  writing  that 
letter.  Shortly  after  his  death  his  widow,  Henrietta 
Irving,  wrote  to  my  brother  that  she  was  left  quite  help- 
less, and  asked  for  an  engagement. 

The  deaths  of  several  celebrities  occurred  this  season  : 
Charlotte  Cushman  (February  18,  1876),  A.  T.  Stewart 
(April  10),  Barney  Williams  (April  25),  and  George 
Sand  (June  18).  Mr.  Daly  considered  Miss  Cushman 
"much  overrated,"  and  Barney  Williams  as  "the  best 
of  the  old  school  stage  Irishmen.  He  began  the  battle 
of  life  unaided  and  fought  it  well.  He  rose  above  his 
birth-rank,  and  preserved  his  new  station  honorably"; 
but,  speaking  of  his  funeral,  he  inveighs  against  "a  sin- 
ful profusion  of  flowers.  This  flower-show  at  funerals 
is  becoming  scandalous." 

Shook  &  Palmer  were  able  to  maintain  in  New  York 
an  injunction  against  the  performance  of  "Rose  Michel," 
and  it  may  be  interesting  to  know  that  when  Mr.  Daly 
tried  to  enjoin  a  piracy  of  "The  Big  Bonanza"  in  Massa- 
chusetts, he  was  met  by  a  conflict  of  laws  described  in  a 
letter  from  his  counsel,  Mr.  Rives  : 

"The  Yankees  I  fear  will  be  too  much  for  you.  In  the  case 
of  'Our  American  Cousin'  the  Massachusetts  Courts  refused 
to  interfere  to  protect  Laura  Keene.  The  New  York  &  Massa- 
chusetts Court  hold  directly  opposite  views  on  the  question." 


2i6  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

While  on  the  subject  of  law  and  lawyers,  this  chronicle 
must  include  a  singular  event  in  the  theatrical  world. 
The  manager  of  the  Park  Theatre  had  been  for  several 
weeks  mysteriously  hinting  at  a  coming  surprise  which 
would  prove  unexampled  in  stage  history.  This  turned 
out  to  be  so;  it  was  announced  that  Mr.  A.  Oakey  Hall 
had  resolved  to  embrace  a  theatrical  career,  had  written 
a  play  called  "The  Crucible,"  and  would  enact  the  hero, 
Wilmot  Kierton,  a  man  wrongfully  accused  of  crime, 
convicted,  sentenced,  and  imprisoned,  but  ultimately 
proved  to  be  innocent. 

It  did  create  a  sensation,  but  a  painful  one,  to  witness 
the  ex-mayor  and  ex-district  attorney,  once  a  leader  of 
the  Bar,  who  had  so  triumphantly  passed  through  the 
ordeal  of  a  public  trial,  condemn  himself  to  prison  garb 
on  the  mimic  stage.  The  step  was  not  excused  by  the 
display  of  any  special  gift  for  acting.  He  had  a  musical 
voice,  but  his  gestures  were  those  of  an  orator,  not  of  an 
actor.  No  sentiment  but  curiosity  could  induce  a  visit 
to  his  performances.  Those  who  felt  the  greatest  inter- 
est in  him  would  be  likely  to  stay  away.  But  it  should 
be  recorded  that  his  ill-success  did  not  affect  the  light- 
hearted  hero  of  the  event  in  the  least.  After  his  experi- 
ment had  lasted  three  weeks  he  closed  the  theatre,  and 
published  a  card  announcing  his  return  to  the  practice 
of  the  law  after  "a  vacation."  For  years  he  continued 
to  be  —  with  now  and  then  some  exhibition  of  new 
eccentricity  —  a  versatile  writer  for  the  press,  filling 
journalistic  posts  with  undiminished  sagacity  and  in- 
dustry. 

At  the  outset  of  the  season  the  bills  of  Daly's  Theatre 
had  announced  the  approaching  debut  of  Miss  Anna  Dick- 
inson. She  was  to  appear  on  February  7,  1876,  but  the 
success   of  "Pique"   necessitated   a   postponement;     and 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  217 

no  new  date  having  been  agreed  upon,  Miss  Dickinson 
never  appeared  under  Mr.  Daly's  management.  Her 
debut  took  place  at  the  Eagle  Theatre  (afterwards  the 
Standard),  which  stood  on  Sixth  Avenue  opposite  Greeley 
Square,  as  Anne  Boleyn  in  "A  Crown  of  Thorns."  Her 
reception  by  the  press  was  not  encouraging,  and  the  sea- 
son terminated  abruptly.  Her  next  appearance  in  New 
York  (which  was  after  a  long  retirement  caused  by  illness) 
was  in  1882  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre,  then  managed 
by  Haverly,  when  she  attempted  the  part  of  Hamlet. 
This  eccentric  performance  was  withdrawn  after  a  week 
and  her  old  play  "A  Crown  of  Thorns"  replaced  it.  This 
was  her  last  appearance  in  New  York.  It  is  said  she 
made  a  fortune  as  a  lecturer,  but  it  must  have  been  les- 
sened materially  by  her  dramatic  attempts.  It  is  not 
probable  that  she  was  sufficiently  docile  to  be  willing  at 
any  period  to  submit  to  the  guidance  and  training  neces- 
sary to  a  stage  career. 

The  manager's  promises  of  new  plays  for  this  season 
included  a  comedy  by  Bret  Harte  : 

"45  Fifth  Avenue,  Friday  a.m. 
My  dear  Mr  Daly 

Thank  you  for  the  suggestion.  I  owe  Mrs.  Harte  a  promise 
to  take  her  to  see  Hamlet,  and  have  accepted  your  kind  invi- 
tation for  Saturday,  for  her. 

Then  we  can  sit  in  the  back  of  the  box,  between  the  acts, 
and  discuss  the  other  play  —  wh.  Shakespeare  ought  to  have 
written  but  wh.  as  he  did  not,  I  may  possibly  undertake;    or, 
I  can  slip  out  and  talk  with  you  in  your  office. 
Let  me  know  if  this  is  satisfactory. 

Very  truly  yours 
Bret  Harte." 

The  Daly  programmes  also  announced  a  drama  "by  a 
distinguished  member  of  the  judiciary."     This  was  the 


21 8  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

late  Justice  Barrett,  whose  attempt  at  dramatic  writing 
(in  collaboration,  it  should  be  understood,  with  his  tal- 
ented wife,  Gertrude  Fairfield,  daughter  of  Sumner  Lin- 
coln Fairfield,  poet  and  litterateur),  deserves  more  than  a 
passing  notice.  In  his  early  days,  even  while  on  the 
Bench,  Barrett  had  been  fond  of  private  theatricals,  and 
had  appeared  as  an  amateur  actor  on  public  occasions. 
The  drama  we  speak  of  was  written  in  1875,  and  called 
"Restored  to  Society,"  a  title  changed  afterwards  to 
"The  Watchword."  Upon  reading  the  manuscript,  the 
manager  found  that  after  sympathy  for  the  unhappy  hero 
and  heroine  had  been  fully  aroused,  they  were  left  by 
the  denouement  more  miserable  than  ever.  He  sug- 
gested to  the  Judge  that  the  fate  of  a  play  with  its  audi- 
ence depended  upon  a  reasonably  happy  solution  of  its 
problems  —  to  which  the  Judge  replied  that  his  object 
had  been  to  dismiss  the  audience  not  in  a  happy,  but  in  a 
thoughtful  mood,  and  that  upon  consultation  with  his 
wife  they  had  agreed  to  stand  or  fall  with  the  play  as  it 
was.  It  was  then  submitted  by  the  authors  to  Wallack, 
and  accepted,  but  was  not  produced  until  after  seven 
years,  under  another  title,  —  "An  American  Wife." 
This  was  on  December  18,  1883.     It  ran  for  two  weeks. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

A.  Sothern  at  Daly's.  "Dundreary"  and  "Garrick"  open  the 
eighth  season,  1 876-1 877.  Sothern's  care  for  details.  Linda 
Dietz  reengaged.  Arrival  of  Charles  Coghlan  to  be  new  leading 
man.  His  debut  as  Alfred  Evelyn.  Miss  Davenport  on  tour. 
"Life"  produced  for  the  Centennial  crowds.  Amy  Fawsitt.  Brief 
appearance.  Death.  Return  of  Miss  Davenport.  "As  You 
Like  It."  "The  School  for  Scandal."  The  Brooklyn  Theatre 
fire.  Blow  to  theatrical  business.  "The  American"  produced. 
"Lemons,"  a  merry  success.  Mrs.  Gilbert's  great  part. 
Coghlan's  benefit.  His  Hamlet  breaks  down.  Harkins  gives  up 
the  Ghost  in  this  revival.  Discharged.  His  previous  dissatis- 
faction and  reprisals.  "  Blue  Glass"  not  a  success.  "The  Princess 
Royal."  Bronson  Howard's  misery  with  melodrama.  Engage- 
ment of  Adelaide  Neilson.  Several  benefits.  Last  work  of  the 
season,  "Vesta,"  from  Parodi's  "Rome  Vaincue."  Miss  Daven- 
port's Posthumia.  End  of  the  manager's  hardest  year  up  to  this 
time. 


Some  appreciable  instant  of  time  is  "supposed  to  elapse" 
between  theatrical  seasons  as  well  as  between  sessions 
of  Congress,  but  the  eighth  season  of  the  Daly  manage- 
ment began  on  the  next  working  day  after  the  close  of  the 
seventh.  It  served  to  reintroduce  E.  A.  Sothern,  after 
a  long  absence  from  America.  He  opened  in  Lord  Dun- 
dreary and  what  was  left  of  Tom  Taylor's  "Our  Ameri- 
can Cousin,"  after  room  had  been  made  in  it  for  his 
lordship's  increased  proportions.  Sothern  came  as  a 
star,  to  be  supported,  as  Booth  had  been,  by  a  company 
engaged  by  Daly.  Miss  Linda  Dietz,  once  an  ingenue 
In  the  old  Fifth  Avenue  days,  was  reengaged  to  assist 
Sothern,  at  his  request.     He  overlooked  nothing.     Thus 

219 


220  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

he  could  advise  "protecting  the  house"  —  i.e.  papering, 
or  crowding  with  invited  guests  so  as  to  present  an 
appearance  of  prosperity ;  and  he  must  be  announced 
as  plain  "  Sothern  "  : 

"I  wd.  suggest  your  protecting  the  house  for  the  ist  2  or 
3  nights  —  so  as  to  open  well  —  but  all  this  I  leave  to  you. 
Have  you  enough  wood-cuts  ?  Drop  me  a  line  to  Continental, 
Phil. 

Yrs.  always 
Sothern. 
Mind  I'm  announced  as 

Sothern 
not  E.  A.  Sothern." 

And  he  occasionally  wrote  his  own  advertisements,  and 
particulars  for  small  bills.  Dundreary  ran  nearly  a  month, 
and  David  Garrick  filled  out  the  rest  of  his  six  weeks' 
engagement. 

"Dear  Daly, 

I  see  you  announce  'Garrick'  for  28th,  so  if  there's  reason- 
ably good  booking  we  shall  have  to  produce  it.  Under  these 
circumstances  don't  you  think  you'd  better  put  a  special  notice 
in  ads.  saying  something  to  this  effect  — 

Last  6  nights  of  Dundreary 

in  consequence  of  the  universally  expressed  desire  for  Mr. 
Sothern's  appearance  in  his  original  characters  in  Garrick 
&  Home.  Garrick  Mon.  28  August.  Home  Mon.  4  Sept. 
We  can  easily  put  Dundreary  back  on  the  bill  the  last  week 
if  we  find  Home  doesn't  draw  extra  well." 

There  was  no  need  to  produce  "Home,"  and  it  was 
not  given. 

He  and  my  brother  fraternized  enthusiastically,  and 
his   time  with  Daly  was   passed   so  pleasantly  that  the 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN    DALY  221 

star    proposed    another    engagement    for    the    following 
season  : 

"...  I  expect  a  telegram  every  day  from  Australia.  If 
I  don't  go  there  wd.  it  suit  you  to  let  me  open  on  Monday, 
April  2d,  1877,  in  a  new  play,  the  very  best  I've  ever  had  writ- 
ten —  we  wd.  run  the  piece  thro'  the  summer  —  if  business 
warranted  it  .  .  .  only  8  parts  in  the  piece  &  all  admirable. 
3  acts,  &  very  easily  put  on  the  stage. 

Possibly  you  may  'simply  ignore'  the  idea! 

Yrs.  always 
E.  A.  Sothern 

I  never  spent  a  jollier  day  than  yesterday  —  in  spite  of  that 
screwed-up  sailor!" 

Sothern,  like  Jefferson,  was  forced  by  public  insistence 
to  spend  most  of  his  time  on  a  single  role,  although  there 
were  almost  infinite  possibilities  in  his  art  —  as  the  tran- 
sition from  the  vapid  Dundreary  to  the  gifted  and  polished 
Garrick  abundantly  testified. 

To  strengthen  the  company  where  it  had  sometimes 
been  found  weak,  that  is,  with  regard  to  a  masculine  actor 
who  possessed  the  authority  of  Wallack,  the  charm  of 
Montague  or  Rignold,  or  the  force  of  Thorne,  Daly 
brought  over  one  of  the  latest  favorites  of  London, 
Charles  Coghlan.  He  was  the  superior  of  all  those  named, 
in  youthful  appearance,  manners,  and  taste,  and  was 
presented  on  September  12,  1876,  as  Alfred  Evelyn  in 
Bulwer's  "Money." 

Miss  Mary  Wells  was  engaged  this  season  for  certain 
lines  of  robust  "old  women"  and  eccentric  roles,  an  in- 
stance of  the  manager's  attention  to  the  nicest  shading 
of  his  dramatic  pictures.  His  company  consisted  not 
only  of  those  named,  but  of  the  entire  forces  supporting 
Miss  Davenport,  now  travelling  with  "Pique." 


222  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

The  success  of  Coghlan  was  immediate,  and  "Money" 
was  kept  on  until  September  27,  when  "Life"  was  brought 
out  with  eclat.  This  was  an  adaptation  of  the  French 
farce  "Le  Proces  Veauradieux."  Coghlan  and  James 
Lewis  had  the  chief  parts ;  Mdlle.  Sohlke  led  a  resplen- 
dent ballet  in  the  spectacle ;  and  the  chief  female  char- 
acter was  intrusted  to  Miss  Amy  Fawsitt,  who  had  played 
Lady  Teazle  four  hundred  nights  and  Lady  Gay  Spanker 
two  hundred  nights  in  London.  Her  unexpected  and 
complete  physical  collapse  almost  immediately  compelled 
her  to  withdraw  from  the  play  and  to  resign  from  the 
company.  Mr.  Daly  advised  her  immediate  return  to 
England,  and  placed  the  money  for  her  passage  in  her 
hands.  She  continued  to  remain  in  the  city,  however, 
until  her  death,  which  occurred  in  the  following  December. 
When  she  gave  up  her  part  in  "Life,"  it  was  assumed 
by  Miss  Drew. 

Sothern  just  now  wrote  one  of  his  characteristic  letters 
to  Daly  : 

"I  learn  yr.  new  piece  is  a  'great  go'  —  so  it's  quite  on  the 
cards  you  can  do  as  well  without  me  —  &  possibly  better.  I 
must  answer  London's  engagement  offers  at  once.  I  prefer 
staying  in  America  at  present  &  I  prefer  playing  with  you.  If 
you  don't  want  me  that  ends  the  argument  —  &  if  you  do  want 
me  what  terms  do  you  propose .''  I  will  produce  3  new  pieces 
if  required.  House  Monday  $1974,  Tuesday  $2008.  The 
biggest  Bus.  ever  known  in  Phil.  y 

's. 

I  only  get  clear  halves  here  —  but  I'm  so  d — d  good  na- 
tured  that  I  don't  growl.     What  an  easy-tempered  ass  I  am." 

"Life"  was  played  to  crowds  for  nearly  two  months, 
when  it  was  withdrawn  to  put  on  "As  You  Like  It" 
with  Miss  Davenport  as  Rosalind  (her  first  appearance 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  223 

this  season)  supported  by  Coghlan  as  Orlando.  Her 
Rosalind  showed  a  sportive  and  assertive  rather  than  an 
arch  and  mischievous  spirit.  Coghlan  was  a  romantic 
Orlando. 

One  of  Coghlan's  great  hits  in  London  was  Charles 
Surface,  a  miracle  of  elegance,  dress,  and  distinction ; 
and  a  most  elaborate  revival  of  "The  School  for  Scan- 
dal," long  in  preparation,  with  Harkins  as  Joseph,  Lewis 
as  Sir  Benjamin,  Davidge  as  Moses,  Hardenbergh  as 
Crabtree,  Fisher  as  Sir  Peter,  Brougham  as  Oliver,  William 
Castle  as  Bumper,  Miss  Drew  as  Maria,  Mrs.  Gilbert  as 
Mrs.  Candour,  Miss  Wells  as  Lady  Sneerzvell,  Coghlan  as 
Charles,  and  Miss  Davenport  as  Lady  Teazle,'was  presented 
to  a  brilliant  audience  on  December  4,  1876. 

As  the  audience  emerged  from  the  first  representation, 
it  heard  the  newsboys  crying  extras  with  news  of  the 
burning  of  the  Brooklyn  Theatre ;  but  not  until  the  next 
day  was  the  extent  of  that  awful  catastrophe  known. 
This  theatre  had  been  hired  by  Shook  &  Palmer  of  the 
Union  Square  as  an  outlet  for  the  numerous  attractions 
they  were  continually  acquiring,  and  had  been  opened 
with  a  revival  of  "Frou-Frou"  and  the  momentary  return 
to  the  stage  of  Miss  Agnes  Ethel.  On  the  night  of  the 
fire,  the  theatre  was  occupied  by  "The  Two  Orphans" 
company,  of  which  Miss  Kate  Claxton  as  the  blind 
Louise  was  the  leading  attraction.  She  escaped  from 
the  burning  building  through  the  parquette  with  the 
aid  of  the  audience.  It  was  singular  that  the  experience 
of  her  grandfather  in  a  similar  disaster,  the  burning  of 
the  Richmond  Theatre  in  Virginia,  had  turned  him 
from  the  stage  to  the  pulpit.  The  Brooklyn  fire,  like 
most  fires  in  theatres  while  a  performance  is  in  progress, 
began  on  the  stage,  which  was  lighted  by  gas.  All  the 
persons  behind  the  scenes  escaped,  and  so  did  the  occu- 


224  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

pants  of  the  lower  part  of  the  house ;  but  the  exit  from 
the  upper  circle  was  blocked  at  the  first  turning  of  the 
stairs  by  the  crowding  and  falling  of  human  beings,  and 
the  mass  of  people  in  that  tier  were  absolutely  imprisoned. 
When  the  police  saw  no  one  coming  down  the  stairs  they 
assumed  that  the  house  was  empty,  and  closed  the  doors 
without  ascending  to  make  sure  that  no  one  was  left 
behind.  The  result  was  the  loss  of  over  three  hundred 
lives. 

This  calamity  practically  ruined  the  business  of  all 
the  theatres  in  the  country  for  that  season.  The  houses 
fell  off  at  least  one-half.  The  patrons  who  braved  the 
perils  now  supposed  to  lurk  in  every  playhouse  were 
reminded  of  their  danger  by  reading  in  the  programmes 
how  they  might  escape  in  case  of  alarm ;  and  for  many 
months  there  was  an  active  demand  at  the  box  office, 
not  for  seats  near  the  stage  but  near  the  street.  Not- 
withstanding the  gorgeous  performance  of  Sheridan's 
immortal  work,  what  had  been  up  to  that  time  a  bril- 
liant season  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  was  suddenly  extin- 
guished. 

Daly  had  a  strong  drama  in  Dumas'  "L'Etrangere," 
which  contained  a  great  part  for  Coghlan.  Adapted  by 
Mr.  Daly  and  called  "The  American,"  it  was  produced 
on  December  20,  1876.  In  spite  of  capital  playing  — 
Coghlan  as  the  Duke  displaying  all  the  high  polish  as 
well  as  the  "reserve  power"  for  which  he  had  been 
credited  repeatedly  abroad,  the  Dumas  play  won  no 
sympathy  from  American  audiences.  The  next  play, 
"Lemons,"  was  one  of  those  bright  things  from  the  Ger- 
man, which  Daly  and  Daly's  company  could  deal  with 
to  perfection.  It  was  produced  on  January  15,  1877, 
with  all  the  company  and  particularly  Mrs.  Gilbert  in 
the  cast.     I  say  particularly,  because  she  had  the  burden 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  225 

of  the  play  as  a  match-making,  managing,  and  dominat- 
ing "feminist,"  and  carried  it  off  brilliantly.  "Lemons" 
filled  the  house  for  eight  weeks. 

Coghlan  had  (according  to  stipulation)  a  benefit,  on 
which  occasion  he  essayed  Hamlet.  It  was,  curiously 
enough,  apparent  that  he  had  no  strength  to  carry  the 
part  through.  He  absolutely  "went  to  pieces"  before 
the  close  of  the  third  act.  His  culmination  was  practi- 
cally reached  in  the  second  act,  after  the  impassioned 
soliloquy:  "Oh  what  a  rogue  and  peasant  slave  am  I!" 
Coghlan  rushed  up  to  the  throne  and  fell  to  stabbing 
the  empty  chair,  as  if  to  glut  his  vengeance  in  this  shad- 
owy fashion.  The  excess  of  this  business  seemed  to  ex- 
haust him,  and  the  remainder  of  the  play  was  accom- 
plished with  indubitable  signs  of  weariness.  At  his 
request  he  had  been  excused  from  playing  at  the  matinee, 
so  as  to  husband  his  strength  : 

My  dear  Daly  "^65  Lex  Ave,  Sunday,  March  4. 

On  reflection  I  think  it  would  be  the  height  of  absurdity  for 
me  to  attempt  to  play  Hamlet  twice  in  one  day  after  a  run  of 
lighter  business.  I  am  convinced  that  you  would  wish  me  to 
do  myself  justice,  and  I  don't  think  I  can  unless  I  reserve  myself 
for  the  night  and  do  not  play  in  the  day  at  all.  I  must  beg  of 
you  therefore  not  to  put  me  down  for  any  matinee  performance 
on  Saturday,  and  if  you  think  it  right  to  make  any  alteration 
in  your  terms  I,  of  course  shall  be  happy  to  agree. 

Sincerely  yours 
Charles  F.  Coghlan." 

Miss  Davenport  played  Ophelia,  Davidge  Polonius, 
Lewis  The  First  Gravedigger,  and  Fisher  The  Ghost,  after  it 
had  been  declined  (I  think)  by  Harkins.  It  was  for  this  or 
some  such  breach  of  contract  that  Harkins  was  now  dis- 
charged from  the    company.     His  salary  was    ^200  per 


226  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

week,  and  he  had  not  played  since  his  appearance  as 
Joseph  Surface.  After  the  arrival  of  Coghlan  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  suit  him  with  parts  in  any  play  in  which  they  were 
to  act  together.  Upon  his  discharge  he  promptly  sued 
for  damages.  In  this  place  it  may  be  interesting  to  note 
that  Harkins,  three  years  before,  when  Louis  James  got 
the  part  of  Yorick,  became  so  angered  that  he  proposed 
to  take  a  lease  of  the  old  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  (which 
Mr.  Eno  considered  rebuilding)  and  running  it  in  oppo- 
sition to  Daly.  This  was  entirely  proper,  but  when  he 
proposed  to  do  so  while  remaining  in  Daly's  company, 
the  manager  raised  his  eyebrows.  Harkins  even  claimed 
the  right  to  recruit  his  new  enterprise  from  other  employees 
of  Daly.  It  will  hardly  be  credited,  but  the  first  recruit 
that  offered  was  Louis  James  !  This  shows  that  the  bond 
of  fellowship  is  stronger  than  the  obligations  of  loyalty. 
The  manager  is  the  common  enemy. 

To  follow  "Lemons,"  another  farce  from  the  German, 
"Blue  Glass,"  was  presented  with  Coghlan  and  Drew 
in  the  leading  roles.  It  happened  just  then  that  a  delu- 
sion was  prevalent  concerning  the  therapeutic  value  of 
sun  rays  transmitted  through  the  medium  of  blue  glass, 
and  this  was  seized  upon  to  give  a  title  to  the  play  and 
to  the  supposed  industrial  stock  in  which  the  dramatis 
personae  were  dabbling.  The  play  was  unsuccessful, 
although  entertaining.  Coghlan  and  Drew  had  congenial 
parts,  and  Miss  Davenport,  Mrs.  Gilbert,  Miss  Rigl, 
Miss  Cowell,  Brougham,  Lewis,  Fisher,  and  Hardenbergh 
lent  their  vivacity  and  buoyancy  to  the  general  effect, 
but  without  avail.  Mr.  Daly  dragged  it  off,  indignant 
at  the  waste  of  nights  of  toil,  days  of  energetic  prepara- 
tion, wealth  of  scenery  and  professional  ability.  The 
resources  of  a  well-equipped  theatre  enabled  him  to  re- 
place "Blue  Glass"  with  a  revival  of  importance  —  "The 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  227 

Lady  of  Lyons."  For  this  production  Mr.  Daly,  for  the 
first  time,  I  believe,  borrowed  from  a  brother  manager 
to  fill  out  a  cast.  Wallack  lent  him  Madame  Ponisi  for 
the  Widow  Melnotte. 

A  new  play,  brought  out  March  31,  1877,  was  "The 
Princess  Royal"  from  the  French  "L'Officier  de  For- 
tune." The  story  was  the  love  of  the  romantic  Princess 
Amalie  of  Prussia  for  the  adventurous  Baron  Trenck, 
whose  memoirs  were  once  a  household  book.  One  of 
the  mechanical  surprises  of  this  play  had  been  appro- 
priated by  Boucicault  for  his  "Shaughraun,"  but  a  vast 
amount  of  original  work  was  put  in  by  Daly  to  assist  its 
dramatic  rather  than  its  theatrical  effects.  The  amount 
of  scenery  was  stupendous  and  taxed  the  whole  dimensions 
of  the  stage.  All  the  company  was  required  for  the  long 
list  of  characters,  and  J.  B.  Studley,  a  melodramatic  per- 
former of  the  old  school,  was  specially  engaged  for 
Korner,  Captain  of  the  Guard.  Coghlan  was  a  dashing 
Frederick  Trenck,  and  Miss  Davenport  a  sumptuous 
Princess.  In  the  original  literary  work  upon  this  play 
my  brother  persuaded  Bronson  Howard,  much  against 
his  will,  to  take  a  hand  ;  but  the  gentle  Howard's  attempt 
at  lurid  melodrama  proved  "too  'orrible,"  and  he  was, 
greatly  to  his  comfort,  released.  The  "Princess  Royal" 
was  played  five  weeks  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  and  was  then 
removed  to  the  Grand  Opera  House,  where  it  continued 
to  flourish  during  the  engagement,  at  the  Fifth  Avenue, 
of  one  of  the  most  cherished  daughters  of  the  stage. 

Adelaide  Neilson's  range  of  characters  was  limited 
for  a  star,  as  Jenny  Lind's  repertoire  was  limited  for  a 
prima  donna ;  but  there  were  actually  no  bounds  to  her 
control  of  her  audiences,  who  hung  upon  her  words  and 
followed  her  motions  with  rapture.  In  recalling  at  this 
time  the  apparent  sources  of  her  charm,  it  seems  to  me 


228  THE   LIFE  OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

that  everything  she  did  appeared  to  be  unconscious,  and 
that  her  voice  did  not  penetrate  —  it  enveloped.  The 
opening  night  was  May  7,  1877;  the  play  "Twelfth 
Night";  Miss  Rigl  Olivia,  Sydney  Cowell  Maria,  Da- 
vidge  Sir  Toby,  Fisher  Malvolio,  Drew  Sir  Andrew  Ague- 
cheek,  and  Hardenbergh  The  Clown.  On  May  14 
"Cymbeline"  was  revived  for  the  first  time  in  many 
years,  with  the  exquisite  star  in  the  part  of  Imogen. 
Studley  was  lachimo.  Collier  Cymbeline,  Haworth  Gui- 
derius,  and  Drew  Cloten.  The  customary  matinee  had 
to  be  omitted  in  the  "Cymbeline"  week,  on  account  of 
a  brief  note  received  by  the  manager  : 

"Friday. 
Please  come  down  &  see  me  for  a  minute  as  soon  as  possible. 
I  cannot  play  Imogen  tonight  &  I  want  to  see  you  to  settle 
what  we  had  better  do.     In  haste  Yours 

L.  A.  Neilson." 

She  managed  to  get  through  with  that  Friday  night's 
work,  but  had  to  rest  all  day  Saturday.  The  next  and 
closing  week  was  largely  occupied  with  "Romeo  and 
Juliet,"  Fisher  playing  Mercutio,  Flardenbergh  Friar 
Lawrence,  and  Crisp  Tybalt.  In  these  three  revivals, 
Eben  Plympton  (specially  engaged)  enacted  in  turn 
Sebastian,  Posthumus,  and  Romeo.  The  closing  nights 
were  taken  up  with  benefits.  On  May  26  Miss  Neil- 
son's  occurred,  and  she  played  Pauline  to  Coghlan's 
Claude,  and  Juliet  to  Rignold's  Romeo  in  the  balcony 
scene.  The  night  after,  for  Miss  Davenport's  benefit, 
she  played  Julia  to  Coghlan's  Clifford  in  "The  Hunch- 
back," while  Miss  Davenport  and  Plympton  were  Helen 
and  Modus,  C.  W.  Couldock  volunteering  for  Master 
Walter. 

Mrs.  Gilbert's  fete  took  place  on  May  10  at  a  matinee 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  229 

when,  with  other  attractions,  a  company  of  society  ama- 
teurs (Messrs.  George  Dusenberry,  Henry  Gushing, 
and  J.  H.  Magee,  Mrs.  W.  J.  Torrey  and  Miss  Ella  R. 
Brady)  appeared  in  the  comedietta  "The  Area  Belle"; 
and  Robert  Heller  gave  one  of  the  best  of  his  comic  mono- 
logues, "The  Boarding  School  Miss  and  her  Piano  Prac- 
tice." At  Mr.  FIske's  benefit  Miss  Neilson,  Miss  Daven- 
port, Rignold,  and  Sol  Smith  Russell  were  the  volunteers, 
besides  the  whole  company  In  the  current  play. 

To  Miss  Neilson  playgoers  are  indebted  for  the  op- 
portunity of  seeing  a  Shakespearian  play  which,  without 
an  artist  of  her  popularity,  managers  hesitate  to  present 
—  "Measure  for  Measure"  (1880).  Had  her  strength 
been  greater  and  her  life  been  spared,  she  might  have 
been  in  more  than  one  way  a  benefactor  to  the  modern 
theatre.  In  1880  she  died,  in  her  thirty-fourth  year. 
Romantic  stories  are  told  of  her  origin  —  of  her  rise 
through  Incredible  hardships  and  her  preservation  through 
unthinkable  experiences  until,  at  twenty-four  years  of 
age  (1870),  she  made  her  first  decided  impression  on  the 
stage.  The  most  appreciative  account  of  her  life,  as 
well  as  of  her  acting,  is  given  by  Mr.  William  Winter  in 
his  "Shadows  of  the  Stage."  As  it  cannot  be  uninter- 
esting either  as  part  of  the  history  of  the  stage  or  of  this 
favorite  actress  to  know  the  business  side  of  her  engage- 
ment, it  should  be  stated  that  she  received  forty-five 
per  cent  of  the  gross  receipts  of  her  performances. 

The  last  production  of  this  season  was  Mr.  Daly's 
"Vesta,"  a  version  In  English  of  Parodl's  "Rome 
Vaincue,"  on  May  28,  1877. 

In  Posthumia,  the  blind  old  crone,  grandmother  of 
the  vestal  Opimia,  Miss  Davenport  made  such  an  artistic 
transformation  as  had  been  admired  in  more  than  one 
of  her  notable  roles.     The  vestal  was  Miss  Jeffreys  Lewis. 


230  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

The  strong  lines  of  the  play  were  delivered  by  Frederick 
Warde,  who  was  specially  engaged  for  Lentulus,  by  Fisher 
as  the  senator  Fabius,  by  Collier  as  the  Pontiff,  and  Stud- 
ley  in  the  effective  part  of  Vestaepor,  a  Gallic  slave.  It 
was  strong  testimony  to  the  respect  in  which  my  brother 
held  his  art,  his  theatre,  and  his  public,  that  he  brought 
out  such  a  novelty  at  this  time  instead  of  being  content 
(as  one  paper  expressed  it)  "to  patchwork  the  fag-end 
of  his  season  with  some  old  and  worn  attraction."  Per- 
haps it  is  unreasonable  to  find  fault  with  the  want  of 
public  appreciation  of  that  trait,  but  it  seems  hard  to 
record  that  the  public  took  no  interest  in  this  powerful 
drama.  Perhaps  there  was  again,  as  in  the  case  of 
"Yorick,"  the  need  of  some  famous  name  to  assure  the 
playgoers  that  a  new  tragedy  would  be  adequately  pre- 
sented. Miss  Davenport  had  not  the  reputation  of 
Ristori,  and  "Vesta,"  after  one  short  week,  was  added 
to  the  list  of  plays  which  possess  every  merit  but  the 
power  to  fill  the  house. 

On  June  2  the  season  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre 
closed  and  rounded  out  a  year  of  such  work  as,  I  think, 
no  manager  ever  did  before.  Not  only  was  every  pro- 
duction —  by  stars  as  well  as  by  the  regular  company 
—  prepared,  staged,  and  rehearsed  by  him,  not  only  was 
every  one  of  the  innumerable  details  of  the  theatre  per- 
sonally superintended,  but  he  presented  six  new  plays, 
all  worked  over  by  his  own  pen.  It  was  so  far  his  hard- 
est year. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

End  of  Daly's  proprietorship  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre.  Ninth 
season,  1877-1878,  abruptly  ended  with  "The  Dark  City."  Before 
that,  preparations  with  new  plays.  W.  D.  Howells'  comedietta. 
Efforts  by  Paul  Fuller,  Mrs.  Rohlfs,  Cornelius  Matthews,  Joseph 
I.  C.  Clarke,  and  Bronson  Howard.  Production  of  "Ah  Sin" 
by  Bret  Harte  and  Mark  Twain.  Distinguished  house  to  greet 
it.  Twain's  witty  response  to  his  call.  Harte's  dry  letter.  Twain 
invents  new  business.  Piece  a  dead  loss.  Edward  F.  Rice's 
burlesque  "Evangeline"  a  success.  Minor  role  essayed  by  Henry 
E.  Dixey.  Coghlan's  desertion.  A.  M.  Palmer  approaches  other 
members  of  the  company.  Death  of  E.  L.  Davenport;  of  George 
L.  Fox,  —  "Humpty  Dumpty";  of  Matilda  Heron.  Bijou's 
indenture.  Production  of  "The  Dark  City."  Its  failure.  Rent 
of  theatre  demanded  with  threats  of  eviction.  Instant  surrender 
of  theatre  by  Daly.  The  last  straw.  The  fortunes  he  had  made 
and  where  they  had  gone.  The  newspapers.  War  on  ticket 
speculators.  Wallack's  custom.  Kindness  of  dealers.  Appre- 
ciation of  authors.  Bronson  Howard's  letter.  The  company 
assembled.  Mrs.  Gilbert  goes  to  Palmer's.  Her  letter.  Jef- 
ferson's engagement  with  Mr.  Daly.  Disappointment.  A  tour 
with  Jefferson.  More  disappointment.  Hard  times.  Sale  of 
J.  W.  Wallack's  Long  Branch  lots  cheap.  Death  of  Charles  F. 
Briggs;  of  Seymour;  of  old  Mr.  Worrell ;  of  Tom  Placide.  Last 
performances  of  Fanny  Davenport  in  the  Daly  Company.  Ac- 
count of  her  subsequent  career.  Account  of  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Theatre  after  1878.  Its  various  managements  as  a  star  theatre. 
Daly's  letters  from  the  South.  Observations  on  Southern  cities 
emerging  from  the  havoc  of  war  and  reconstruction.  Efforts  to 
get  a  theatre.     Extension  by  his  creditors.     Sails  for  Europe. 

The  requirements  of  the  past  season  had  prevented 
Augustin  from  staging  Mr.  W.  D.  Howells'  first  play, 
w^hich  had  been  announced  as  early  as  August,  1876  : 

"A  new  comedietta,  'The  Parlor  Car,'  which  has  been  ac- 
cepted by  Mr.  Daly,  is  to  be  published  in  The  Atlantic  Monthly, 
the  author  preferring  to  have  the  piece  criticised  in  advance." 

231 


232  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

It  will  be  recalled  that  it  was  at  Mark  Twain's  sugges- 
tion that  Mr.  Daly  proposed  to  the  editor  of  The  Atlantic 
Monthly  an  excursion  into  the  dramatic  field,  with  the 
result  now  told  in  these  letters  : 

Editorial  office  of  The  Atlantic  Monthly. 

The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
April  24,  1876. 
My  dear  Sir 

You  have  doubtless  forgotten  a  very  kind  invitation  you 
gave  me  something  more  than  a  year  since  to  send  you  any- 
thing I  might  write  in  the  way  of  a  play ;  and  it's  with  no  pur- 
pose of  trying  to  create  a  sense  of  obligation  in  you  that  I  recall 
a  fact  so  gratifying  to  myself. 

Here  is  a  little  comedy  which  I  have  pleased  myself  in  writ- 
ing. It  was  meant  to  be  printed  in  The  Atlantic,  (and  so  the 
stage  direction,  for  the  reader's  intelligence,  was  made  very 
full) ;  but  I  read  it  to  an  actor  the  other  day,  and  he  said  it 
would  play;  I  myself  had  fancied  that  a  drawing-room  car 
on  the  stage  would  be  a  pretty  novelty,  and  that  some  amusing 
effects  could  be  produced  by  an  imitation  of  the  motion  of  a 
train,  and  the  collision. 

However,  here  is  the  thing.  I  feel  so  diffident  about  it, 
that  I  have  scarcely  the  courage  to  ask  you  to  read  it.  But  if 
you  will  do  so,  I  shall  be  very  glad. 

If  by  any  chance  it  should  please  you,  and  you  should  feel 
like  bringing  it  out  on  some  oif-night  when  nobody  will  be  there, 
pray  tell  me  whether  it  will  hurt  or  help  it,  for  your  purpose, 
to  be  published  in  The  Atlantic.  Yours  trulv 

W.  D.  Howells. 

Editorial  office  of  The  Atlantic  Monthly. 
The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

May  9,  1876. 
My  dear  Mr.  Daly 

I  am  very  much  gratified  that  you  like  my  little  farce,  though 
your  kindness  makes  me  feel  its  slightness  all  the  more  keenly. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  233 

If  you  think  it  will  play,  it  is  at  your  disposal;  I  could  not 
imagine  a  better  fortune  for  it  than  you  suggest ;  and  if  it 
fails,  I  shall  have  the  satisfaction  —  melancholy  but  entirely 
definite  —  of  knowing  that  it  was  my  fault.  I  suppose  that 
even  if  my  Parlor  Car  meets  with  an  accident  it  need  not  tele- 
scope any  future  dramatic  attempt  of  mine  ?  I  confide  in  your 
judgment  and  experience;  and  I  am  going  to  send  you  some 
half  dozen  pages  more  of  this  size,  supplying  some  further 
shades  of  character  in  the  lady's  case,  and  heightening  the  eff^ect 
of  the  catastrophe. 

I  expect  to  pass  through  New  York  on  my  way  home  from 
Philadelphia  about  the  28th,  when  I  will  make  an  effort  to  see 

y^^-  Very  truly  yours 

W.  D.  Howells. 

P.S.  I  went  last  night  with  Clemens  to  see  poor  Miss 
Dickinson  make  her  debut.  It  was  sorrowfully  bad,  the  act- 
ing, and  the  heaps  of  cut  flowers  for  the  funeral  only  made  the 
gloom  heavier." 

While  "The  Parlor  Car"  was  waiting  to  be  attached 
to  the  first  available  train,  the  author  was  employing  his 
spare  hours  in  a  dramatic  work  of  more  dignity  :  a  comedy 
in  four  acts  which  was  also  to  be  submitted  to  the  man- 
ager of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre.  It  was  completed  in 
due  time  and  read,  but,  not  at  all  to  the  author's  disap- 
pointment (for  he  said  he  had  little  hopes  of  its  "theatrica- 
bility"),  it  was  found  wanting. 

Among  the  manuscripts  received  about  this  time  were  : 
one  from  the  distinguished  lawyer  Mr.  Paul  Fuller,  a 
play  in  four  acts  called  "Peasant  and  Noble";  Miss 
Anna  Katherine  Green's  first  effort  in  the  theatrical 
field;  "Witchcraft,"  by  a  veteran  playwright,  Cor- 
nelius Matthews,  who  had  been  composing  United  States 
historical  dramas  for  nearly  half  a  century;  and  an 
American  play  by  the  amiable  journalist,  Joseph   L   C. 


234  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Clarke.  Bronson  Howard  ventured  into  a  new  field 
and  forwarded  from  Detroit  "The  Tramp,"  which  he  had 
just  finished. 

A  joint  work  of  Bret  Harte  and  Mark  Twain  saw  the 
light  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  on  July  31,  1877, 
when  "Ah  Sin"  was  produced  after  much  preliminary 
advertising.  We  remember  a  literary  partnership  at- 
tempted by  Bret  Harte  and  Boucicault.  It  had  come  to 
naught,  and  Harte  finished  his  play  without  the  aid  of 
an  expert  in  theatrical  construction.  It  was  produced 
at  the  Union  Square  Theatre  in  1876  under  the  title  of 
"Two  Men  of  Sandy  Bar,"  and  failed.  The  press  be- 
labored it,  and  the  amiable  author  immediately  apolo- 
gized. Stuart  Robson  took  the  chief  part,  and  perhaps 
his  unnatural  enunciation  —  which  was  not  only  not  West- 
ern, but  not  anything  known  to  civilization  —  killed  it. 
Robson's  utterance  was  only  fitted  for  the  rankest  bur- 
lesque. After  that  experience  Harte  and  Mark  Twain 
labored  together,  and  the  result  was  "Ah  Sin." 

There  was  a  distinguished  gathering  on  the  first  night, 
Sothern,  Boucicault  and  Brougham  and  all  the  literary 
lights  in  town  being  in  the  house.  The  authors  were 
loudly  called  for,  and  Twain  appeared,  Harte  being  then 
in  Washington.  A  speech  being  of  course  demanded. 
Twain,  who  was  dressed  quite  appropriately  for  the 
season  in  a  suit  of  white  linen,  responded  with  his  usual 
gravity.  Some  of  the  papers  next  day  thought  the 
speech  better  than  the  play.     Here  it  is  : 

"This  is  a  very  remarkable  play.  I  don't  know  as  you 
noticed  it  as  it  went  along;  but  it  is.  The  construction  of  this 
play  and  the  development  of  the  story  are  the  result  of  great 
research,  and  erudition  and  genius,  and  invention  —  and  pla- 
giarism. When  the  authors  wrote  it  they  thought  they  would 
put   in    a   great   lot   of   catastrophes    and     murders    and    such 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  235 

things,  because  they  always  enliven  an  evening  so;  but  we 
wanted  to  have  some  disaster  that  wasn't  hackneyed,  and  after 
a  good  deal  of  thought  we  hit  upon  the  breaking  down  of 
a  stage-coach.  The  worst  of  getting  a  good  original  idea  like 
that  is  the  temptation  to  overdo  it;  and  in  fact  when  the  play 
was  all  done  we  found  that  we  had  got  the  stage-coach  break- 
ing down  seven  times  in  the  first  act.  It  was  to  come  right 
along  here  every  seven  minutes  or  so,  and  spill  all  the  passengers 
over  on  the  musicians.  Well,  you  see,  that  wouldn't  do;  it 
made  it  monotonous  for  the  musicians;  and  it  was  too  stagey; 
and  we  had  to  modify  it;  and  there  isn't  anything  left  of  the 
original  plan  now  except  one  breakdown  of  the  coach,  and  one 
carriage  break-down,  and  one  pair  of  runaway  horses.  Maybe 
we  might  have  spared  even  some  of  these;  but  you  see  we  had 
the  horses,  and  we  didn't  like  to  waste  them. 

I  wish  to  say  also  that  this  play  is  didactic  rather  than  any- 
thing else.  It  is  intended  rather  for  instruction  than  amuse- 
ment. The  Chinaman  is  getting  to  be  a  pretty  frequent  figure 
in  the  United  States,  and  is  going  to  be  a  great  political  problem, 
and  we  thought  it  well  for  you  to  see  him  on  the  stage  before 
you  and  to  deal  with  that  problem.  Then  for  the  instruction 
of  the  young  we  have  introduced  a  game  of  poker.  There  are 
few  things  that  are  so  unpardonably  neglected  in  our  country 
as  poker.  The  upper  class  know  very  little  about  it.  Now  and 
then  you  find  Ambassadors  who  have  a  sort  of  general  knowl- 
edge of  the  game,  but  the  ignorance  of  the  people  at  large  is 
fearful.  Why,  I  have  known  clergymen,  good  men,  kind- 
hearted,  liberal,  sincere  and  all  that,  who  did  not  know  the 
meaning  of  a  'flush';  it  is  enough  to  make  one  ashamed  of 
one's  species.  When  our  play  was  finished,  we  found  it  was 
so  long,  and  so  broad,  and  so  deep  —  in  places  —  that  it  would 
have  taken  a  week  to  play  it.  I  thought  that  was  all  right; 
we  could  put  'To  be  continued'  on  the  curtain,  and  run  it 
straight  along.  But  the  manager  said  no;  it  would  get  us 
into  trouble  with  the  general  public,  and  into  trouble  with  the 
general  government,  because  the  Constitution  forbids  the  inflic- 
tion of  cruel  or  unusual  punishment;    so  he  cut  out,  and  cut 


236  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

out,  and  the  more  he  cut  out  the  better  the  play  got.  I  never 
saw  a  play  that  was  so  much  improved  by  being  cut  down; 
and  I  believe  it  would  have  been  one  of  the  very  best  plays  in 
the  world  if  his  strength  had  held  out  so  that  he  could  cut  out 
the  whole  of  it." 

The  play  showed  such  signs  of  weakness  that  Twain, 
after  he  went  away  and  thought  it  over,  devised  new 
business  for  the  Chinaman  at  the  end  of  one  of  the  acts, 
telegraphed  it  to  Parsloe  (Ah  Sin)  and  sent  a  copy  to  the 
manager : 

"Instead  of  blowing  water,  seize  your  brazier  and  blow  a 
cloud  of  ashes.  The  men  after  sprawling  and  butting  into  each 
other  will  have  their  eyes  full  of  ashes  and  in  their  blind  fury 
will  proceed  to  snatch  each  other  by  the  throat  —  a  natural 
thing  for  such  ruffians  to  do;  whereupon  you  smiling  down 
upon  them  a  moment,  may  sweetly  say  'Me  gottee  gagement 
me  no  can  waitee'  or  words  to  that  effect  and  be  sliding  out 
as  the  curtain  strikes  the  floor.  Please  try  this  tonight  and 
telegraph  me  the  result.  The  present  ending  would  be  full  of 
points  and  a  fine  success  in  San  Francisco  where  it  would  be 
understood,  but  we  must  manage  to  improve  on  it  here.  Be 
sure  and  try  the  above  suggestion  tonight  unless  you  think  of 
something  stronger.  S_  L.  Clemens." 

But  this  did  not  save  the  play.  The  receipts  gradually 
dwindled  week  by  week  for  five  weeks,  with  considerable 
loss  to  Daly. 

In  the  excitement  of  the  first  night  the  anxious  Bret 
Harte,  away  in  Washington,  was  forgotten  ;  and  the  over- 
sight drew  from  him  a  reasonable  remonstrance  : 

"...  There  is,  I  believe,  somewhere  up  in  Hartford  an 
agent  and  lawyer  of  Mr.  Clemens,  who  is  at  some  time  to  fur- 
nish accounts  &c.  —  to  me  possibly  —  but  he  doesn't,  he  says, 
know  anything  about  the  play  since  it  was  played  in  Washing- 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  237 

ton.  I  don't  want  any  accounts  from  you  or  Parsloe,  only  a 
simple  expression  of  your  opinion  as  to  whether  the  play  was 
or  was  not  successful,  and  as  one  of  its  authors,  this  does  not 
seem  to  me  to  be  an  inconsistent  request  or  calculated  to  wound 
anybody's  —  say  Parsloe's  —  sensitive  nature.  It  is  the  mere 
courtesy  of  business. 

Send  me  a  line.  Yours  truly, 

Bret  Harte. 
A.  Daly  Esq. 

5th  Ave.  Theatre." 

Before  the  production  of  "Ah  Sin,"  Edward  F.  Rice's 
burlesque  "Evangeline"  was  brought  out.  "Evange- 
line" was  quite  a  success.  Miss  Eliza  Weathersby  was 
in  it  with  Nat  C.  Goodwin,  George  S.  Knight  (made  up 
to  resemble  Major  General  B.  F.  Butler,  late  of  New 
Orleans),  Harry  Hunter,  and  many  others.  The  pro- 
gramme announced  as  a  special  feature  that  Messrs. 
R.  Golden  and  H.  E.  Dixey,  as  The  Two  Deserters,  would 
execute  the  "Heifer  Dance."  This  novelty  was  accom- 
plished, and  left  so  deep  an  impression  as  to  give  rise  in 
after  years  to  the  legend  that  Mr,  DIxey's  debut  on  the 
stage  was  in  the  character  of  Hind  Legs,  Passing  over 
the  inaccuracy  as  to  the  legs  (he  was  to  the  fore),  the  fact 
is  that  the  first  appearance  of  this  excellent  comedian 
was  in  his  early  boyhood  in  Boston,  and  that  he  played 
many  parts  before  he  frolicked  in  "Evangeline," 

The  plans  for  the  new  season  included  an  engagement 
of  Joseph  Jefferson,  who  was  expected  early  in  October 
from  England  after  an  absence  of  two  years,  and  who  was 
to  play  eight  weeks  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  for 
seven  hundred  dollars  each  performance.  Before  the 
season  opened  dissatisfaction  manifested  Itself  In  the 
company.  Coghlan  was  not  pleased  with  the  numerous 
changes  of  bill,  or  with  his  new  parts.     Lewis  also  began 


238  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

to  complain.  Both  gentlemen,  and  Miss  Sydney  Cowell, 
appear  to  have  been  invited  to  a  chat  with  Mr.  Palmer  of 
the  Union  Square.  Coghlan  was  the  only  one  that  Palmer 
succeeded  in  getting ;  but  he  was  a  severe  loss  to  Daly. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  season,  the  death  of  E.  L. 
Davenport  seriously  affected  his  daughter,  who  hurried 
to  his  bedside.  Daly's  tribute  to  Davenport  was ; 
"The  ripest  student,  the  ablest  actor,  the  honestest  man 
of  the  stage  in  his  generation." 

In  this  year  also  died  poor  Humpty  Dumpty,  George 
L.  Fox,  who  broke  down  completely  soon  after  his  fiasco 
at  the  Broadway,  and  Matilda  Heron,  yet  a  young  woman. 
In  looking  over  old  papers  I  found  the  writing  by  which 
Mrs.  Stoepel  committed  her  little  daughter  Bijou  to  Mr. 
Daly  for  the  part  of  Adrienne  in  "Monsieur  Alphonse" 

(1874) : 

"Having  the  utmost  confidence  in  Mr.  Daly's  moral  care 
of  my  child  I  hereby  contract  my  daughter  Bijou  Heron, 
who  is  under  age,  to  the  professional  supervision  of  Augustin 
Daly  Esqr.  manager  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre,  for  the 
purpose  of  perfecting  by  experience  and  practice  the  histrionic 
talents  which  she  inherits  from  me;  &  for  the  purpose  of  inten- 
sifying my  instructions  in  the  art  of  acting;  &  for  availing  her- 
self of  the  advantages  of  Mr.  Daly's  Theatre ;  but  I  understand 
that  this  does  not  carry  the  custody  of  my  daughter  when  not 
acting." 

And  the  renewal  contract  next  year  is  subscribed  : 

"  In  full  confidence  in  Mr.  Daly,  as  authorized  by  well-tried 
experience  of  his  faithful  care  of  my  daughter  Bijou  Heron,  I 
herewith  subscribe  my  name,  fully  endorsing  the  above. 

Matilda  Heron." 

"The  Dark  City"  was  the  title  given  to  the  new  play 
which  the  manager  prepared  for  the  opening  of  his  sea- 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  239 

son,  and  an  enormous  amount  of  time  and  trouble  was 
spent  upon  it.  It  was  a  decided  departure  from  the 
"society  dramas"  which  had  for  years  been  seen  on  the 
Fifth  Avenue  stage.  Miss  Dyas  was  to  create  the  part 
of  the  wronged  orphan  Sybil  Chase  and  Miss  Rigl  that 
of  the  spoiled  beauty  Rula.  The  scenery,  like  that  of 
"Under  the  Gaslight,"  exhibited  locaUties  familiar  to 
explorers  of  Old  New  York. 

The  new  play,  in  spite  of  the  intelligence  and  labor 
spent  upon  it,  was  an  immediate  failure.  It  had  no  public 
in  that  theatre.  It  was  not  below  the  taste  of  its  patrons 
any  more  than  Parodi's  tragedy  was  above  it ;  both  were 
out  of  sympathy  with  the  Fifth  Avenue  audiences, 
that  was  all.  How  the  new  piece  might  have  been 
received  in  the  days  when  Augustin's  sensational  dramas 
crowded  his  early  theatres  can  only  be  conjectured  ;  the 
one  thing  material  was  that  it  failed  him  just  when  he 
needed  a  success,  and  a  great  success,  to  float  him  over 
the  shallows.  His  responsibilities  were  enormous;  and 
when  the  first  instalment  of  rent  for  September  was  due, 
and  he  was  unable  to  pay  it,  it  was  clamored  for  with 
threats  of  ejectment.  This  demand  to  a  man  of  sensi- 
tive spirit,  who  had  been  for  nearly  five  years  —  during 
the  worst  financial  panic  the  country  had  ever  known 
—  working  so  indomitably  in  the  face  of  defections,  de- 
sertions, and  violent  competition,  roused  in  him  a  fierce 
and  resentful  spirit.  When  the  threat  of  ejectment  was 
uttered,  he  instantly  offered  to  surrender  the  theatre. 
The  surprised  lessors  could  only  accept.  They  had  been 
discontented.  One  complaint  on  their  part  was  Daly's 
unsociability  and  unapproachability  —  characteristics 
which  seem  to  awaken  in  persons  who  have  never  even 
met  their  supposed  possessors,  a  sense  of  personal  resent- 
ment.    Then  there  was  gossip,  utterly  baseless,  that  he 


240  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

had  made  several  fortunes  and  squandered  them.  The 
fact  is  that  he  Hved  in  a  modest  style,  kept  no  horses,  no 
yacht,  no  country  house.  His  sole  luxury  was  a  library, 
the  accumulation  of  ten  years,  which  when  sold  brought 
only  $8000,  and  which  he  had  already  pledged  to  pay  his 
theatre  expenses.  What  became  of  the  fortunes  he  had 
made  may  be  gathered  from  these  pages  —  over  a  thou- 
sand dollars  lost  in  the  Grand  Opera  House,  fifteen  thou- 
sand spent  in  fitting  up  anew  the  Twenty-fourth  Street 
house,  thirty  thousand  lost  by  the  fire,  thirty-five  thou- 
sand for  remodelling  728  Broadway,  over  forty  thousand 
for  furnishing  the  house  in  twenty-eighth  Street,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  losses  of  five  seasons. 

To  understand  how  Mr.  Daly  could  bring  himself  to 
sacrifice  in  a  moment  his  past  and  perhaps  his  future, 
and  resign  the  position  which  had  been  the  goal  of  his 
ambition,  we  have  to  consider  how  little  calculation  or 
self-interest  sways  a  man  of  his  nature,  smarting  under  a 
sense  of  unworthy  treatment.  This  was  the  second  time 
his  landlords  had  threatened  him  with  ejectment.  The 
first  time  was  when  he  was  pushed  to  the  wall  by  the 
injunctions  against  his  performance,  obtained  two  years 
before  by  Wallack.  The  present  threat  was  the  last 
straw  laid  upon  the  back  of  an  overburdened  man. 

When  arrangements  for  the  surrender  of  the  theatre 
were  in  progress,  the  lessors  experienced  some  regret  for 
the  turn  aff"airs  had  taken,  but  it  was  too  late;  the  news 
had  got  abroad.  The  lease  and  arrears  of  rent  were 
cancelled  in  consideration  of  the  lessee  leaving  half  his 
scenery  and  all  his  furnishings  and  equipments,  including 
the  seats  in  the  theatre.  As  his  own  comment  on  this 
event  I  find  a  single  line  in  his  hand  :  "Negotiations  con- 
cluded.    $45,000  for  $8,300,  and  peace  and  rest." 

The    afi"air    startled     the    newspapers.     The    journals 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  241 

recalled  Daly's  exploits,  the  favorites  of  the  stage  he  had 
helped  to  develop,  the  companies  with  which  he  had 
spanned  the  continent,  the  list  of  successful  plays  he  had 
written,  the  disasters  he  had  overcome.  All  but  one 
voiced  regret  at  his  retirement;  that  one,  to  the  general 
amazement,  observed  that  it  was  surprising  so  little 
sympathy  was  expressed  for  him  in  the  theatrical  pro- 
fession ! 

It  was  hard  to  say  whom  he  could  possibly  have  in- 
jured in  his  career,  except  perhaps  the  ticket  speculators. 
He  did  manifest  towards  them  hardness  of  heart.  He 
originated  in  the  very  first  year  of  management  in  the 
little  twenty-fourth  Street  house  a  plan  to  circumvent 
them.  It  had  been  a  crying  shame  at  Wallack's  that  when 
a  successful  play  created  a  demand,  the  house  was  practi- 
cally sold  out  at  once  to  a  speculator  whose  agents  retailed 
the  tickets  in  the  lobby  day  and  night  at  an  advance. 
It  had  been  done  at  other  theatres.  It  was  a  business-like 
way  of  taking  advantage  of  an  excessive  demand  and  a 
limited  supply,  and  practically  doubling  the  receipts  of 
the  house. 

As  to  sympathy  in  the  profession,  it  was  manifested 
in  letters  from  actors  in  his  company  and  out  of  it,  and 
from  managers  in  other  cities  ;  and  it  is  especially  worthy 
of  note  that  the  business  houses  with  which  he  dealt 
refrained  from  troubling  him  during  this  stress.  One 
of  them  wrote  him  immediately  upon  receiving  back  an 
invoice  of  goods  they  had  just  sent : 

"We  simply  oifer  you  our  humble  helping  hand,  i.e.,  if  you 
want  to  resume  business  in  this  City  in  your  professional  pur- 
suit, we  will  furnish  to  your  order  for  the  next  twelve  months 
to  come  such  goods  as  we  keep  in  our  establishment  which 
you  may  need  in  your  business  if  you  want  to  avail  yourself 
thereof." 


242  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

I  have  found  many  letters  testifying  to  his  personal 
and  business  courtesy  and  generosity.  Bronson  Howard, 
in  a  letter  to  Florence  (May  14,  1877),  in  relation  to  a 
play  to  be  written  for  the  latter  and  produced  at  the  Fifth 
Avenue,  bears  this  testimony : 

"I  think  you  had  better  talk  to  Daly  and  so  have  a  three- 
cornered  talk  on  the  subject.  He  is  crammed  full  of  good 
ideas.  You  may  depend  on  this  in  reference  to  Daly  —  if  he 
sees  a  better  chance  for  a  popular  success  in  the  suggestion  I 
make  than  in  the  ideas  now  in  his  own  head  he  will  not  let  any 
desire  to  do  his  own  piece  weigh  an  ounce  in  making  his  deci- 
sion. This  is  one  of  his  strongest  peculiarities.  I  can  assure 
you  of  this  from  my  personal  experience.  He  offered  me  his 
title  of  Divorce  long  before  he  used  it  himself.  Read  him  any 
suggestions  for  the  play  and  write  to  me.  ..." 

Augustin  inscribed  in  his  box-office  book  under  the 
head  of  gth  Season,  yth  week,  4yth  performance  : 

"The  end  of  the  first  book !  To  night  A.  D.  retires  from  the 
theatre  he  built  up." 

******* 

The  company  was  called  to  the  green-room  on  Monday, 
September  10,  (1877),  and  informed  that  Mr.  Daly  would 
withdraw  from  the  theatre  when  the  curtain  fell  on 
Saturday  night;  that  he  proposed  to  carry  on  his  season 
by  a  tour  to  various  cities,  and  that  he  would  take  with 
him  everybody  who  was  willing  to  come.  Miss  Dyas 
asked  to  be  permitted  to  retire.  Miss  Davenport,  who 
was  starring,  was  not  concerned  in  the  immediate  situa- 
tion. Lewis  was  very  discontented,  and  before  the  week 
was  out  Mr.  Daly  begged  him  to  better  himself  elsewhere. 
Fisher  was  too  old  to  travel.  Some  members  of  the  com- 
pany had  already  received  offers  from  other  managers, 
and  among  them  was  Mrs.  Gilbert,  who  was  sought  at 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  243 

once  by  Palmer.  She  remained  with  Mr.  Daly  until  the 
last  night,  and  by  that  time  he  had  learned  that  she  had 
accepted  an  engagement  at  the  Union  Square.  We  can 
conjecture  what  his  countenance  told  her  from  the  letter 
she  wrote  when  she  went  home : 

Dear  Governor  "  Saturday  Night. 

My  heart  is  very  full  and  sore.  I  grieve  more  than  you 
know  when  I  have  done  anything  that  angers  or  even  displeases 
you.  I  have  almost  unconsciously  clung  to  you  for  sympathy 
and  comfort  in  my  loneliness,  and  to  feel  now  that  I  have  been 
misjudged  hurts  me.  I  have  no  business  to  trouble  you  with 
all  this,  but  I  feel  that  I  must  ease  my  heart  some  way  before 
I  go  to  bed. 

I  admit  I  should  have  seen  you  before  I  answered  Air. 
Palmer's  letter,  but  even  so  I  don't  see  what  excuse  I  could 
have  made  for  refusing.  He  would  be  sure  to  think  it  came 
from  you,  and  that  would  be  very  undesirable. 

Very  sincerely 
Grandma." 

Keeping  up  his  spirits,  the  still  youthful  manager 
departed  with  his  faithful  few;  and  a  message  to  me  in 
cheerful  vein  gives  some  of  his  experiences  : 

Dear  Brother,  "Baltimore,  Oct.  7th,  1877. 

In  Paterson,  &  face  to  face  with  $167  worth  of  people.  The 
rain  drowned  out  or  washed  out  the  orchestra  I  had  engaged, 
and  none  turned  up  for  the  performance  :  —  so  at  the  eleventh 
(or  seventh)  hour  I  had  a  piano  brought  in,  and  had  Sydney 
Cowell  to  play  it  between  the  acts.  Sydney  had  by  some  lucky 
chance  met  some  of  the  ladies  of  the  Company  that  day  in  New 
York,  &  had  come  over  to  Paterson  with  them,  on  a  lark.  She 
came  to  scoff  —  &  remained  to  play.  Thus  did  I  grind  good 
out  of  evil.  Amen  !  —  Saturday  evening  I  produced  Divorce 
in  Wilmington  .  .  .  the  house  was  filled  —  and  I  think  I 
begin  to  see  daylight  from  this  indication." 


244  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

He  came  back  to  open  Booth's  Theatre  for  Jefferson's 
engagement.  Jefferson  assented  to  the  transfer  on  condi- 
tion that  he  got  more  money  ;    cabhng  : 

"Will  consent  on  condition  of  receiving  clear  half  after  eigh- 
teen hundred  in  addition  to  the  seven  hundred." 

This  was  acceded  to,  and  Jefferson  began  on  October  29, 
1877,  with  "Rip  Van  Winkle."  It  was,  as  I  have  said,  his 
first  appearance  after  an  absence  of  two  years,  and  he 
anticipated  very  large  business,  as  is  indicated  by  his 
providing  for  the  event  of  the  nightly  receipts  exceed- 
ing $1800.  As  it  turned  out,  they  averaged  only  $1274  per 
night  for  his  four  weeks,  or  twenty-four  performances. 
He  received  ^700  each  time  he  played  —  more  than  his 
manager  got.  He  was  probably  not  fully  conscious  of 
the  low  level  to  which  theatrical  business  as  well  as  all 
other  business  had  settled  down  in  the  United  States. 
Reference  has  not  been  made  to  one  cause  of  it  —  the 
extensive  and  violent  railroad  strike  which  paralyzed  the 
country  in  the  summer  of  1877.  Riots  accompanied  the 
strike  in  the  West  and  South,  and  were  apprehended  in 
New  York,  where  anarchist  meetings  were  held  in  the 
squares.  Mob  demonstrations  were,  however,  checked 
by  prompt  military  precautions,  the  various  regiments  of 
the  National  Guard  being  openly  drilled  at  night  on  the 
streets  in  front  of  their  armories  to  exhibit  their  prepared- 
ness for  trouble. 

Mr.  Daly  was  of  course  not  alone  among  theatrical 
managers  to  suffer  from  this  culmination  of  the  long 
financial  distress.  Most  of  them  resorted  to  the  expe- 
dient of  "papering"  their  houses  (Sothern  would  have 
called  it  "protecting");  but  Augustin,  like  the  firm  old 
business  man  his  father-in-law  Duff,  disliked  to  hoodwink 
the    public.     It    was    reported    that    the    overwhelming 


THE  LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  245 

crowds  at  one  large  theatre  represented  ^2000  and  yet 
the  actual  receipts  were  only  ^400.  The  manager  of 
another  large  theatre,  one  of  the  finest  in  the  city  and  in 
the  country,  invented  the  ingenious  scheme  of  attracting 
the  populace  by  reducing  the  price  of  admission  to  twenty- 
five  cents,  and  when  he  got  the  crowd  in,  charging  them 
twenty-five  cents  more  for  a  seat.  Wallack,  while  his 
own  theatre  was  open,  played  at  the  Grand  Opera  House 
at  cheap  prices.  As  an  indication  of  the  ebb  in  realty 
values  at  this  period,  it  is  enough  to  say  that  the  fine 
country  estate  of  J.  W.  Wallack  at  Long  Branch,  being 
put  up  at  auction  in  separate  lots  (August,  1877),  brought 
only  ^80  to  ^95  per  city  lot.  Even  Augustin  could  afford 
to  bid  for  four  of  them  at  that  price,  and  then  the  rest 
were  withdrawn.  Real  estate  investments,  by  the  way, 
have  ever  been  favorites  with  theatrical  folk  —  the  ambi- 
tion of  those  wandering  tribes  being  the  acquisition  of  a 
home.  Adelaide  Neilson  this  year  parted  with  some 
holdings  of  hers  —  four  lots  on  the  northeast  corner  of 
Broadway  and  eighty-first  Street. 

Augustin's  early  friend,  Charles  Frederic  Briggs,  died 
this  year  (June  21,  1877),  and  I  find  this  memorandum 
concerning  him  : 

"C.  F.  B.  was  the  first  editor  who  gave  me  any  encourage- 
ment to  persevere  at  the  outset  of  my  literary  career.  I  offered 
him  my  first  contribution  when  he  was  editor  of  the  Courier 
—  1859  —  and  it  was  accepted,  and  step  by  step  he  advanced 
me.  His  kindness  was  maintained  to  the  end  and  in  The 
Independent  he  has  uttered  some  of  his  cheeriest  words  of  me." 

There  was  published  about  this  time  an  account  of 
Sardou's  lean  and  hungry  youth.  When  his  "Pattes  de 
Mouche"  was  accepted  by  Dejazet,  he  confided  to  a 
friend  that  it  was  his  last  chance,  and  said,  "If  I  fail,  I 


246  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

shall  sail  for  the  United  States  to-morrow  and  try  my 
luck  at  journalism"  ! 

Seymour  of  the  Times,  an  esteemed  associate  of  the 
old  days  when  Augustin  was  dramatic  reviewer,  died  in 
May.  Of  this  excellent  musical  and  dramatic  critic, 
his  friend  significantly  writes  "A  gentleman."  The 
decease  of  old  Mr.  Worrell,  once  a  famous  circus  clown, 
recalled  his  ambitious  parental  effort  to  set  his  three 
daughters  on  the  road  to  fortune  when  he  leased  the  old 
New  York  Theatre ;  and  the  unhappy  ending  of  Thomas 
Placide,  "poor  stem  of  a  fine  old  stock,"  awoke  memories 
of  the  Burton  days.  Placide  ended  a  romantic  history 
by  disregarding  the  "canon  'gainst  self-slaughter."  He 
had  retired  from  the  stage  about  1867. 

To  return  to  the  season  at  Booth's  :  Disappointed 
with  the  result  of  it,  Mr.  Jefferson  refused  to  remain  there 
longer  than  four  weeks,  but  agreed  to  try  his  fortune  in 
other  cities  upon  a  tour  with  Augustin  as  manager. 
They  opened  in  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  morn- 
ing of  their  arrival  he  and  Augustin  visited  the  grave  of 
the  elder  Jefferson.  In  the  evening  a  house  of  only  ^608 
(of  which  Joseph  got  one-half)  greeted  the  famous  Rip 
Van  Winkle,  who  must  have  thought  that  he  was  still 
asleep  and  having  a  bad  dream.  The  idea  of  the  tour 
was  soon  abandoned,  and  Augustin  set  out  with  his  com- 
pany upon  his  own  account. 

The  season  at  Booth's,  so  abruptly  terminated,  was 
filled  out  by  Miss  Davenport,  whom  Mr.  Daly  brought 
in  for  "As  You  Like  It"  and  "The  School  for  Scandal" 
during  the  holidays.  After  that  she  went  with  the  Daly 
company  on  its  tour  of  four  months.  This  was  her  last 
appearance  under  his  management.  Afterwards  she 
engaged  a  company  of  her  own.  The  following  year 
she  played  at  the  Union  Square  Theatre  in  Will's  drama- 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  247 

tization  of  "The  Vicar  of  Wakefield,"  called  "Olivia," 
and  impersonated  the  lovely  and  wronged  heroine  with 
touching  sympathy  and  effect.  For  twenty  years  after- 
wards she  continued  to  be  a  prominent  figure  on  the 
American  stage.  Her  last  appearance  in  New  York  was 
at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  in  February,  1898,  in  "La 
Tosca,"  and  her  regretted  death  occurred  in  the  Sep- 
tember following,  in  her  forty-eighth  year.  She  was 
twice  married,  both  times  to  actors  :  in  1879  to  E.  F. 
Price  and  in  1888  to  Melvin  McDowell. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  give  an  account  of 
the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  after  Mr.  Daly  left  it.  To 
the  general  surprise,  it  was  opened  by  Messrs.  Fiske  and 
Harkins.  It  was  doubtless  an  exaggerated  idea  of  the 
value  of  their  property,  and  a  notion  that  only  mismanage- 
ment on  Mr.  Daly's  part  had  prevented  the  theatre  being 
crowded  to  the  doors  whenever  they  were  opened,  that 
induced  the  lessors'  peremptoriness,  and  it  must  have 
been  illuminating  to  them  to  find  that  the  only  bidders 
for  the  place  were  the  late  lessee's  former  business  man- 
ager and  a  former  member  of  his  company.  The  new 
managers  set  out  to  reverse  the  Daly  policy  and  to  con- 
duct the  place  strictly  as  a  star  theatre.  Unencumbered 
by  an  expensive  company,  they  kept  it  going  for  the 
remainder  of  that  season,  introducing  (for  the  first  time) 
Mary  Anderson  and  Madame  Modjeska,  and  miscel- 
laneous entertainments  including  English  opera  and 
pantomime.  A  second  season,  though  it  repeated  the 
Anderson  and  Modjeska  engagements,  supplemented 
by  one  of  Booth  and  one  of  Jefferson,  lost  money  so 
rapidly  that  it  ended  disastrously  in  January,  1879,  with 
a  strike  for  salaries  behind  the  scenes,  the  familiar  pro- 
ceedings to  dispossess  the  tenants  for  non-payment  of 
rent,   and,   in   addition,   a   bitter  litigation   between   the 


248  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

partners.  Mr.  Fiske  then  withdrew  and  Mr.  Harkins 
took  another  partner,  but  after  further  unavaihng  eflFort 
he  also  reHnquished  his  hold. 

After  several  brief  experiments  by  different  managers 
the  theatre  was  taken  in  1880  by  Haverly,  a  speculator 
in  negro-minstrelsy.  He  was  replaced  in  1882  by  John 
Stetson,  who  spent  on  theatres  the  money  made  with  a 
sensational  newspaper.  He  was  succeeded  in  1888  by 
Eugene  Tompkins  of  Boston,  and  in  1890  by  Harry 
Miner,  an  impresario  from  the  Bowery  and  Eighth  Avenue. 
On  January  2,  1891,  the  theatre  was  destroyed  by  fire 
—  eighteen  years,  almost  to  a  day,  after  its  beautiful 
predecessor,  the  first  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre,  met  with 
the  same  fate.  When  each  fire  occurred,  Miss  Davenport 
was  playing  —  the  last  time,  as  a  star;  and  on  this  occa- 
sion she  lost  the  scenery  and  costumes  of  her  "Cleopatra." 
Fortunately  this  fire,  like  the  other,  occurred  after  a 
performance.  Daly  never  reentered  the  building  as  a 
manager  after  he  left  it  in  1877.  Sixteen  months  after 
its  destruction  in  1891,  it  was  rebuilt  and  relet  to  Miner 
and  resumed  its  career  as  an  industrial  enterprise.  In 
the  fall  of  1898  Mr.  Daly's  musical  company  with  "The 
Runaway  Girl"  was  transferred  to  it  from  Daly's  Theatre 
and  continued  there  its  remarkably  successful  career. 
Of  late  years  the  theatre  has  been  devoted  to  vaudeville 
and  other  light  amusements. 

The  chronicle  of  Augustin's  tour  of  1 877-1 878  is  con- 
tained in  letters  from  Syracuse,  Richmond,  Raleigh, 
Charleston,  Savannah,  New  Orleans,  Mobile,  and  Nash- 
ville. Their  interest  consists  in  the  observations  they 
contain  upon  the  cities  of  the  old  South  as  they  emerged 
from   the   desolation   of  war   and   reconstruction. 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  249 

"Richmond,  Jan.  29,  '78. 

Here  I  am  at  the  Portal  of  the  sunny  south.  My  waking 
sight  of  ole  Virginny  from  the  car  window  yesterday  morning 
fell  upon  puddly  lands,  broken  fences,  lonely-looking  frame 
houses  and  sleepy-looking  darkies  driving  depressed-looking 
teams.  An  hour  later  we  rattled  into  Richmond  —  whose 
neglected  outskirts  gave  little  promise  of  the  livelier  condition 
within.  I  have  had  two  walks  over  the  city,  and  one  thing 
impresses  me  first  of  all  &  in  contrast  to  our  trim  and  sightly 
prospects  north  and  west  —  &  that  is  the  carelessness  of 
appearance,  &  slovenliness  of  outside  all  the  public  buildings 
have  here.  The  R.  R.  Station  is  a  shed  built  years  since  be- 
side an  unkept  road,  into  whose  muddy  depths  the  passenger 
sinks,  to  his  own  disquiet  &  the  delight  of  the  multitude  of 
bootblacks  who  hover  about  the  scene  like  hyenas  waiting  their 
prey.  Everything  presents  a  lively  bustling  air,  however,  and 
I  liken  the  city  to  one  awakening  from  a  long  sleep. 

I  haven't  seen  a  single  darkey  since  I  got  in.  They  all 
appear  to  be  married  &  have  large  families  or  lots  of  relations. 
They  swarm,  &  come  &  go  in  swarms.  I  have  been  run  down 
for  passes  by  the  sprightly  mulatto  chambermaids  &  the  dusky 
office  boys  &  the  native  maroon  table  attendants  —  but  in 
each  &  every  instance  they  wanted  'em  for  three  or  four :  for 
their  'bressed  little  chillern'  or  'de  ole  woman  &  de  chile' 
or  'my  gal,  boss,  &  her  mudder'  or  'me  &  my  brudder'  and 
sich  like.  There  is  a  'Nigger  Heaven'  (as  the  third  tier  is 
called  in  Troy)  here,  &  as  'tis  very  capacious  I  have  been  liberal 
with  my  pencilled  passes,  &  I  expect  to  be  sung  in  Hymns  at 
'de  Tabby  Nuckle'  next  'Sabbath.'  " 

"Raleigh,  N.  C.     Feb'y.  ist,  1878. 

My  foot  is  on  my  native  heath,  my  name's  —  As  You  Like 
It.  But  alas,  I  must  be  dead  to  all  emotion.  I  neither  thrilled 
nor  throbbed.  To  be  sure  once  I  did  think  I  felt  a  sort  of  ele- 
vating and  ennobling  emotion,  and  I  was  beginning  to  think 
better  of  myself  —  but  I  had  hardly  got  my  Pride  &  Patriot- 


250  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

ism  well  kindled  when  the  brutal  conductor  informed  me  I  was 
still  some  miles  from  the  border  line,  &  I  wilted  at  once. 

To-night  we  are  in  Raleigh  —  a  city  without  a  paved  street, 
&  yet  an  extensive  &  important-looking  place.  At  any  rate 
its  citizens  have  turned  out  to-night  en  masse,  headed  by  the 
Governor  (not  that  Governor  of  North  Carolina  who  made 
the  historical  remark  to  the  Governor  of  South  Carolina)  but 
Governor  Vance,  to  whom  I  was  introduced  &  whom  I  escorted 
to  a  box  amid  the  enthusiastic  approbation  of  the  entire  audi- 
ence. Everybody  seems  to  know  I'm  a  native  —  &  they  wel- 
come me  as  a  brother.  I  have  been  presented  already  (here 
five  hours  only)  to  eighty-seven  colonels  and  a  hundred  and 
forty-nine  majors.  The  Judiciary  have  been  backward  — 
the  Attorney  General  is  the  nearest  approach  to  the  wool-sack 
I've  met. 

Yesterday  —  (or  rather  last  night)  —  I  was  in  Norfolk, 
&  after  the  play  I  took  a  ramble  by  myself  over  our  old  walks. 
...  A  spot  I  lingered  near  longest  was  the  old  ground  where 
the  circus  used  to  pitch  its  tents,  —  the  back  stairs  of  the 
theatre  land  upon  the  identical  field  ;  there  and  near  Scott's 
old  school  house;  and  the  little  tobacco  shop  (replaced  by  a 
much  grander  one)  where  you  invested  Santa  Claus's  money 
that  fatal  Christmas  in  your  first  &  last  plug  of  Virginia  Honey- 
Comb."  ^ 

"Savannah,  Feb.  12,  '78. 
I  have  heard  Savannah  called  the  Garden  City  of  the  South 
—  but  to  me  it  looks  like  a  city  of  decay.  There  is  not  a  sign 
of  newness  about  the  place  from  the  river  bank  to  the  limits. 
Everything  looks  as  though  it  stood  just  where  it  grew  with  the 
town  —  unaltered  ;  unimproved  ;  undestroyed  ;  and  simply 
enduring  with  Time  the  storms  of  the  years  and  the  seasons' 
changes.  The  sidewalks  are  paved  —  but  the  drives  are 
unstoned.  At  every  other  square  the  streets  are  blocked  by 
a  little  park  —  of  crosswalks  &  grass  plots  and  a  mound  of 
shrubs  or  a  fountain.  The  houses  are  mostly  low  &  squatty  as 
'  I  was  six  years  old  on  that  occasion. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  251 

though  designed  to  meet  the  shock  of  earthquakes.  The 
Theatre  is  the  oddest  old  building  you  ever  saw;  built  seventy 
years  ago  upon  the  English  model ;  and  it  remains  almost 
unchanged.  The  Parquette  is  called  the  Pit  —  &  the  balcony 
the  dress  circle.  The  seats  are  plain  straight  benches  with  a 
little  tuft  for  a  seat  —  &  a  narrow  strip  of  uncovered  wood  for 
a  back.  Remnants  of  the  old-style  English  boxes  still  exist 
on  the  second  tier  —  but  the  'Gentry'  no  longer  resort  to 
them  &  they  are  mostly  occupied  by  the  manly  'sect.'  The 
proscenium  is  very  old  &  odd  too  and  has  an  opening  each 
side  for  the  stars  to  answer  calls  without  disturbing  the 
curtain. 

I  believe  'tis  the  oldest  theatre  in  America  now,  since 
the  Holiday  Street  house  in  Baltimore  was  burned.  And  its 
very  dinginess  is  suggestive.  Kean  &  Booth  &  Macready  & 
Fanny  Kemble  &  Charles  Kemble  and  Ellen  Tree  and  the 
elder  Mathews  and  all  the  lights  of  Art  so  long  sunken  in  their 
sockets  flashed  forth  from  these  creaky  boards  their  brightest 
fires  —  &  warmed  two  generations  past  into  enthusiasm. 

I  cannot  fall  in  love  exactly  with  Savannah,  spite  of  its 
memories  &  its  warm  welcome;  mostly,  I  think,  because  it 
seems  to  lack  the  elements  of  life.  It  is  clouded  —  and 
shrouded.  There  is  a  moss  which  hangs  upon  every  tree  in  & 
out  of  it,  obscuring  the  foliage,  &  covering  it  like  a  heavy  grey 
cobweb.  You  will  see  whole  Avenues  of  handsome  trees 
engloomed  with  this  moss  —  which  in  the  early  sunrise  is  said 
to  look  beautiful,  sprinkled  with  dew  &  reflecting  the  rays  of 
the  rising  sun  in  a  million  diamond  drops ;  but  something  of 
this  web-like  moss  seems  to  over-spread  the  city  —  and  give 
it  a  cemetery  look. 

I  liked  Charleston  better.  Out  of  New  York  I've  seen  no 
city  so  handsome ;  none  so  wakeful  and  full  of  life  &  spirit 
.  .  .  Some  of  the  finest  mansions  of  the  country  are  standing 
here  almost  in  the  very  heart  of  the  town ;  and  round  The 
Battery  —  a  Park  very  much  like  our  own  Battery  —  is  a 
street  shaped  like  a  crescent  &  lined  with  a  succession  of  grand 
old-fashioned    mansions ;     with    triple-tiered    terraces ;     roomy 


252  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

yards  &  gardens  —  where  orange  trees  abound ;  and  fenced  in 
by  massive  brick  walls  &  old-fashioned  gateways,  with  their 
tinselled  iron  ornaments." 

"New  Orleans,  February  19th,  '78. 

I  think  I  wrote  you  last  from  Savannah ;  the  city  upon  whose 
rising  head  some  almighty  power  seems  to  have  placed  its 
hand  years  ago,  and  said  to  it:  stand  still.  My  next  jump 
was  to  Macon  —  along  the  line  of  Sherman's  march :  it  was  a 
dreary  sort  of  day  through  a  dreary  sort  of  country  returning 
again  to  its  cotton  prosperity.  We  stopped  for  dinner  at  an 
imposing-looking  wooden  mansion  reached  by  some  fifty  steps 
(more  or  less)  where  I  struck  the  first  novelty  of  Southern  menu 
—  syrup  pie !  a  mixture  of  meal  &  molasses  baked  tart  style  in 
a  crust.  One  bite  was  sufficient !  The  taste  haunts  me  at 
times  since  with  spectral  horrors.  Our  train  this  same  day 
stopped  at  a  wood  station  to  wood  up,  just  as  Robinson's 
Circus  was  letting  out.  It  was  one  of  the  strangest  of  sights. 
Scarcely  half  a  dozen  houses  in  sight  —  yet  a  thousand  resi- 
dents of  the  surrounding  country  gathered  here  in  wagons, 
on  mule  back,  and  in  ox  teams.  I  seemed  to  be  recognized  on 
the  platform  by  some  of  'the  boys'  —  for  they  made  a  dash 
for  me,  &  I  was  speedily  introduced  to  'Old  John  Robinson's 
bulliest  son,'  &  to  'Our  Jester,'  and  the  'celebrated  summer- 
set rider,'  &  many  others  too  numerous  to  mention  but  equally 
rough  &  dirty,  &  equally  'proud  to  shake  hands  with  me.' 
They  were  all  happy ;  only  gave  day  performances,  to  save 
gas ;  &  were  unanimous  in  denouncing  the  license  laws  of 
Georgia.  At  the  next  town  I  got  the  enclosed  letter  from  one 
of  the  boys  —  which  I  think  you  will  smile  over.   ... 

Well,  St.  James  &  St.  Giles  parted  —  after  quite  a  frater- 
nization of  the  two  companies  —  (Tommy  Jefferson  &  the 
Jester  of  the  Arena  even  shedding  tears  on  shaking  hands) 
and  we  got  on  to  Macon.  .  .   . 

After  Macon  I  spent  a  few  hours  in  Atlanta,  which  I  saw 
(unfavorably)  in  a  shower.  But  it  looks  large  &  lively.  The 
Theatre  is  long,  low  &  churchlike  with  square  galleries  —  like 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  253 

most  of  these  country  theatres ;  but  it  promised  to  be  fairly- 
full.  After  Atlanta  came  Montgomery.  Years  ago  I  think 
I  called  the  town  of  Cairo,  111.,  the  hole  of  creation ;  it  being 
the  dirtiest  city  I  had  ever  laid  eyes  on.  But  Cairo  is  a  parlor 
compared  to  Montgomery,  Ala.  And  why  the  place  should  be 
kept  so  filthy  I  cannot  understand.  The  streets  are  broad  & 
handsome  (though  unpaved),  the  houses  are  substantial,  of 
brick  &  stone,  &  are  really  very  finely  built.  .  .  .  But  hotels, 
theatres,  &  stores  are  absolutely  filthy.  The  scrub  brush  has 
not  polluted  their  grimy  floors  or  sides  for  years.  Whitewash 
is  unknown  and  paint  is  prohibited.  Even  the  broom  &  duster 
appear  to  be  scarcely-known  articles  of  civilization.  Pigs 
without  number  &  of  every  size  are  as  plentiful  in  the  streets 
as  dogs  &  cats  are  in  New  York  —  &  I  have  seen  the  frolick- 
some  calf  indulging  its  appetite  by  its  parent's  side  in  the  public 
gutter  —  which  by  the  way  was  grass-grown,  sunny  &  dusty. 
Cows  wander  about  the  streets  loosely.  A  fountain  of  green 
stagnant  water  fills  the  public  square,  round  which  the  negro 
marketwomen  gathered  the  day  I  was  there  —  to  the  number 
of  2  or  3  score,  —  giving  the  only  gay  &  festal  look  to  the  city 
I  could  see.  .  .  .  The  Shaughraun  was  played  here  last  week 
&  was  a  dire  failure  —  the  wake  scene  being  rotten-egged  three 
nights  in  succession,  —  till  it  was  cut  out. 

(The  Enclosure :) 

Brown's  Hotel,  Macon,  Ga.,  Feb.  loth  1878. 
Sir 

I  am  A  young  man  20  years  of  Age.  I  have  been  travelling 
With  old  John  Robinson's  Circus  and  Menagerie.  I  play  B. 
flat  Cornet  in  the  Band  and  now  I  would  like  to  leave  this  show 
and  travel  with  your  Company  to  take  Charge  of  Property 
and  play  B.  flat  Cornet  in  your  Orchestra,  and  that  will  save 
you  the  trouble  of  hiring  A  Cornet  player  in  every  town  you 
go  to  and  I  will  work  for  the  Moderate  Salary  of  10  Dollars  A 
Week  and  Expenses.  I  want  to  get  with  A  Hall  Show  the 
Worst  way  please  Write  and  let  me  know  if  you  can  give  me  A 
Snap  or  not.     I  understand  the  Business  as  I  have  traveled 


254  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

with  other  theatre  Companys  and  I  can  furnish  you  Recom- 
mends as  I  am  Strictly  temperate  and  would  be  A  good  Dresser 
if  you  will  want  me  please  Answer  Immediately  and  Direct  to 
Davisboro  georgia  as  that  is  where  we  will  be  on  the  i6th  of 
this  Month  and  I  see  that  you  are  Billed  to  be  here  on  the  14th 
so  please  Write  or  telegraph." 

"  St.  Charles  Hotel,  New  Orleans,  Feb.  24,  '78. 

New  Orleans  is  a  disappointing  city.  ...  I  have  read  in 
one  of  the  local  sheets  however  that  'though  peace  &  quiet 
have  come  to  the  city  —  never  was  business  so  dull  —  want  so 
prevalent  —  nor  suffering  so  universal.'  Still  the  papers  are 
sad  liars.  For  instance  I  read  every  day  letters  from  New 
Orleans  in  the  New  York  Herald  —  how  'excitement  is  at 
fever  heat  about  the  Returning  Board  trials,'  how  'the  scenes 
of  a  year  ago  are  revived'  &  how  'the  political  situation  looks 
grave' !  When  the  fact  is,  there  is  not  half  as  much  fuss,  talk 
or  fever  about  the  courts,  hotels  or  street  corners  —  where 
you  generally  look  for  'excitement'  —  as  there  is  in  a  New 
York  country  village.  The  Returning  Board  has  not  demanded 
any  passes  to  see  Pique  —  and  no  one  threatened  us  with  the 
vengeance  of  the  White  League  unless  we  issued  complimen- 
taries  to  the  city  officials.  The  negro  is  not  rampant  —  nor 
in  any  way  offensively  prominent.  He  is  quite  as  deferential 
as  the  Hortiest  Sutherner!  could  desire.  I  was  standing  be- 
side a  white  brother  yesterday,  &  he  hailed  an  ebony  swell  in 
a  stove-pipe  who  was  passing  with  a  familiar  'Hello  Jim'  —  & 
Hello  Jim  replied  with  'He,  he,  how  —  yeh?'  and  I  was  in- 
formed that  Jim  was  a  senator.  He  seemed  to  wear  his  honors 
easily.  'Policy'  rules  the  day  here,  I  fear,  rather  than  Politics. 
I've  taken  three  nibbles  myself,  but  got  bitten,  &  so  I've  re- 
formed. They  have  daily  drawings  &  monthly  drawings  — 
&  the  little  blue  tickets  hang  in  alluring  hundreds  on  strings  in 
every  cigar  store  window.  You  can  buy  one  number  for 
twenty-five  cents,  or  two  numbers  for  fifty  cents  or  four  for  a 
dollar:  &  run  a  chance  of  getting  $1,000.  The  entire  Fifth 
Avenue  Company  laid  in  a  stock  of  numbers  one  morning  and 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  255 

went  about  the  streets  for  several  hours  swelled  with  antici- 
pated possession  until  about  four  o'clock,  when  the  wheel  was 
turned,  and  they  all  glided  back  to  their  several  cots  collapsed 
and  misanthropic  comedians. 

Between  soda  water  at  five  cents  a  glass  &  Lottery  Tickets 
at  a  quarter  a  number  —  the  happy  &  open-mouthed  visitor 
in  New  Orleans  relieves  his  person  of  much  dollars.  Every 
alternate  shop  upon  the  festive  streets  of  this  city  has  a  soda 
fountain;  I  never  saw  so  many.  I  wonder  how  the  city 
escapes  a  grand  human  explosion.  .  .  .  Yesterday  I  started 
out  on  a  search.  I  began  at  the  north  &  explored  east  &  west 
&  went  due  south  —  throughout  the  New  City  and  the  old 
—  in  the  American  quarter  &  among  the  French  colony  — 
but  in  vain  I  looked  :  nowhere  could  I  find  —  a  Basement  or 
a  Cellar !     New  Orleans  is  absolutely  without  such  a  luxury. 

One  thing  about  this  city  you  would  admire,  I  think;  & 
that  is  the  way  in  which  it  hedges  in  its  courts  with  quiet. 
While  the  judicial  officers  are  sitting  they  stretch  chains  across 
the  crossings  which  guard  the  approaches  to  the  Court  build- 
ings ;    &  put  up  iron  signs  on  which  are  inscribed  : 

Halt ! !     The  Court  is  open. 

The  City  is  quite  gay  just  now  —  on  the  eve  of  Mardi-Gras. 
Every  train  brings  fresh  arrivals  from  the  rural  districts  and  from 
the  northern  cities  —  &  the  hotels  &  boarding  houses  are  filling 
up.  The  streets  are  lively  with  processions  &  bands.  Next 
week  we  are  to  have  a  torchlight  turnout  of  the  Mystic  Knights 
of  Mornus,  and  this  being  one  of  the  big  events  of  the  season 
we  have  to  close  the  theatre  as  no  one  will  pay  a  dollar  to 
go  inside.  N.  O.  is  not  behind  its  Northern  rivals  in  preferring 
the  Free  Show  to  the  Pay  Performance.  .  .  . 

I  wrote  to  Mary  the  other  day  about  my  books,  &c.  —  But 
it  has  occurred  to  me  perhaps  I  could  sell  off  all  my  pictures, 
bronzes  and  superfluous  furniture  &  save  my  books.  I  fear  if 
I  have  to  sacrifice  those  printed  treasures  this  time  I'll  never 
have  ambition  to  buy  another  book  again  or  build  another 
home." 


256  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Having  completed  his  season  and  fulfilled  his  contracts 
with  his  company,  the  manager  returned  to  New  York 
to  consider  obtaining  a  new  theatre.  Mr.  Eno,  pro- 
prietor of  the  site  on  which  the  first  Fifth  Avenue  stood, 
and  who  remembered  the  early  successes  of  Daly  there, 
made  him  the  following  propositions  :  To  let  the  new  hall 
as  it  stood  for  ^10,000  per  annum  for  ten  years,  the  lessee 
to  convert  it  into  a  theatre  at  a  cost  ranging  from  ^40,000 
to  ^70,000,  or  the  lessor  to  build  the  theatre  and  lease 
it  for  ^15,000  per  annum,  or  the  lessor  and  tenant  to  share 
such  cost,  in  which  case  the  rent  would  be  ^12,000. 
Fortunately  Augustin  did  not  close  with  any  of  these 
propositions,  which,  however,  were  not  illiberal ;  but  his 
judgment  then  was  that  the  property  was  too  small  for 
the  general  purposes  of  theatrical  business,  and  the  pro- 
posed term  of  ten  years  too  brief  for  an  investment. 
Meanwhile,  preparations  were  on  foot  for  whatever  theatre 
might  be  acquired.  Augustin  wrote  to  Bronson  Howard 
to  attach  him  to  the  enterprise,  and  proposed  an  engage- 
ment to  Miss  Ethel.     The  replies  were  encouraging. 

One  preliminary  essential  to  resuming  business  was  to 
obtain  an  extension  from  the  creditors  who  were  left 
outstanding  when  the  Twenty-eighth  Street  house  was 
closed.  In  this  project  he  was  assisted  by  his  counsel, 
Mr.  Richard  M.  Henry,  and  they  set  out  together  on  one 
of  the  hottest  days  of  the  season.  With  the  strain  of  his 
anxieties,  he  was  prostrated  completely  by  heat  and  ex- 
haustion, but  he  was  able  to  write  that  he  found  "the 
creditors  generally  very  nice," 

One  site  for  a  theatre  he  always  favored  ;  it  was  that 
which  eventually  became  Daly's  Theatre,  but  the  expense 
of  fitting  it  for  his  purpose  and  the  still  uncertain  theatri- 
cal business  made  him  pause;  and  he  resolved  to  use  the 
time  of  waiting  in  a  visit  —  his  first  —  abroad  : 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  257 

"  I  feel  that  it  would  be  wholly  impossible  for  me  to  remain  in 
New  York  —  idle  —  for  a  year,  or  even  for  a  month  if  I  had  no 
prospect  of  work  at  the  end  of  it;  and  so  I  have  made  up  my 
mind  to  make  a  trip  over  the  sea ;  —  perhaps  there  I  may  find 
a  market,  which  is  closed  to  me  here.  At  all  events  I  can  but 
try.  The  effort  will  keep  me  busy,  and  if  I  fail  I  have  become 
so  used  to  disappointments  now,  that  one  more  will  not  hurt 
me  worse  than  idleness  here  without  any  effort  or  any  hope  at 
all.  .  .  . 

I  got  nearly  all  my  creditors  to  sign  the  extension  —  &  I 
shall  feel  better  to  leave  the  matter  that  way.  In  2  years 
some  change  must  occur.  It  cannot  be  for  the  worse  —  for 
that  is  impossible ;  unless  it  be  Death  steps  in  —  and  I  believe 
firmly  that  in  some  way  or  other  I  shall  rise  above  all  my  worries 
and  anxieties  &  debts,  within  that  time." 

On  the  28th  of  August,  1877,  Augustin  sailed  on  the 
Italy  for  London.  His  brother-in-law  James  Duff  was 
to  have  been  his  companion,  but  at  the  last  moment 
business  compelled  him  to  stay  over  for  another  steamer, 
and  we  regretfully  saw  my  brother  depart  alone. 


FOURTH    PERIOD:    1 877-1 879 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

First  impression  of  London  in  the  seventies.  Concert  at  Covent 
Garden.  Gaiety  Theatre,  and  Terry  as  Jeames  Yellowplush. 
Sunday.  London  indifference.  The  Adelphi  Theatre.  Alhambra 
Music  Hall  and  Prince  of  Wales  Theatre.  Temple  Garden.  The 
Alexandra  Theatre,  Liverpool.  First  view  of  Irving.  Haymarket 
Theatre  and  H.  J.  Byron.  Introduction  to  the  editors  of  the  Era 
and  the  Figaro.  Lodgings  in  Jermyn  street.  Folly  theatre. 
The  Crystal  Palace.  The  Abbey.  Mrs.  John  Wood.  Her 
characteristic  letters.  Visit  to  Finchley  Burgess,  the  great  min- 
strel. Lionel  Brough.  Farjeon  and  his  wife  Margaret  Jefferson. 
Visit  to  Mrs.  Wood.  Arthur  Cecil  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  Terry 
of  the  Gaiety.  Drury  Lane  and  the  "Winter's  Tale."  English 
audiences  contrasted  with  American.  Canterbury  Music  Hall. 
Nelly  Powers'  Irish  song.  Bartoletti.  Grecian  Theatre,  and 
George  Conquest  in  one  of  his  "thrillers."  Glimpse  of  Beacons- 
field.  Greenwich,  but  no  whitebait.  Richmond,  and  maids  of 
honor.  Rochester  and  Edwin  Drood's  crypt.  Gadshill.  "The 
Lady  of  Lyons  Married  and  Settled."  Dinner  at  the  Garrick 
Club.  Cordiality  of  old  actors  and  new  journalists.  George 
Conquest  a  "Gaslight"  pirate,  now  leading  a  better  life.  Remark- 
able runs  of  plays.  First  night  verdict  never  considered  final. 
Invitation  to  the  Laboucheres.  Dinner  at  the  Savage  club.  Man- 
ager of  Drury  Lane.  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  running  at  five 
theatres.  Opposition  not  harmful  in  London,  each  theatre  hav- 
ing its  own  public.  "Negro"  dialect  on  the  English  stage.  Pope's 
villa  at  Twickenham.  Henrietta  Hodson.  Strawberry  Hill. 
Visit  to  the  Queen's  Laundry.  Failure  of  the  bank  of  Glasgow. 
Wilkie  Collins.  Bijou  Heron  at  school  in  Paris.  Irving  gets  the 
Lyceum  Theatre.  The  Olympic,  Coleman  and  Neville.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  German  Reed's  entertainments.  Corney  Grain  charming. 
Nothing  suitable  for  America  except  "  Pinafore."  Theory  of  a 
successful  theatre.  Slowness  in  preparing  plays  in  London. 
Warmth  and  constancy  of  English  audiences.  A  visit  to  the  crim- 
inal courts.     Observations  on  the  mode  of  trials. 

261 


262  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"London,  September  12,  '78. 

I  trod  the  dust  of  the  Mighty  City  —  (Good  name  for  a 
play  that !)  for  the  first  time  on  Tuesday,  coming  upon  it  from 
the  Fenchurch  St.  Station  of  the  Overground  R.  R.  If  Wall 
St.  Ferry  were  a  R.  R.  depot  it  would  give  you  an  idea  of  what 
part  of  the  city  I  saw  first.  The  day  was  lovely  —  so  far  the 
augury  was  good.  .  .  .  The  sail  up  the  Thames  from  its  mouth 
was  most  interesting.  Gravesend  gives  you  the  first  radical 
change  of  town  scenery,  and  the  difference  between  the  odd  old 
houses  there  and  those  of  our  own  dear  land  is  most  decided. 
The  river  is  the  most  wriggle'y  stream  I  ever  saw.  One  of  the 
spots  which  recalled  my  old  5th  Ave.  days  was  Tilbury  Fort. 
I  thought  I  saw  the  two  beefeaters  asleep  in  front  of  it  —  & 
almost  heard  Matthews  directing  the  rehearsal  of  The  Critic. 
...     So  far  I  have  turned  my  saunterings  into  the  city  proper 

—  have  seen  a  London  fire,  a  London  fog,  and  a  London  rain 

—  all  of  them  quite  like  our  own.  I  have  also  seen  a  London 
Beadle  —  a  Parochial  Beadle,  coat,-  staff,  cocked  hat  &  all.  I 
nearly  capsized  at  the  sight,  —  I  thought  it  was  Davidge  at  first. 
Have  found  that  this  city  is  also  blessed  with  an  unfinished 
court  house,  which  is  called  the  Palace  of  Justice,  and  in  which 
all  the  Courts  of  Law  are  to  be  moved  when  it  is  finished  ;  it 
has  been  as  long  building  (and  is  not  half  up)  —  and  has  cost 
nearly  as  much  money  as  the  late  Mr.  Tweed's  little  affair. 
I  am  doing  a  deal  of  walking  to  keep  my  spirits  up  —  for  spite 
of  the  busy  &  novel  scenes  about  me  I  am  terribly  lonely.  I 
have  spent  an  evening  at  Covent  Garden  Theatre  listening  to 
a  concert,  and  one  at  the  Gaiety  Theatre.  ...  I  have  seen  no 
one  yet  who  would  make  any  great  hit  in  N.  Y.  Terry  the 
comedian  at  the  Gaiety  is  good,  but  he  is  too  popular  here  for 
his  own  good,  for  he  does  not  act  earnestly.  I  saw  him  in  a 
very  clever  adaptation  of  Thackeray's  'Jeames  Yellow- 
Plush,'  which  though  appreciated  here  would  hardly  make  a 
hit  in  New  York." 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  263 

"'Morleys,'  London  —  Sunday,  Sept.  15,  '78. 

I  have  a  dull  overclouded  day  for  my  first  Sunday  in^London. 
I  went  to  the  oratory  at  Brompton  this  morning.  .  .  .  Sunday  is 
quite  as  quiet  here  as  it  is  in  N.  Y.,  and  I  fancy  from  the  ad- 
vertising columns  that  much  excursioning  is  done.  Indeed  so 
far  I  get  but  this  impression  of  difference  between  the  two 
cities  (beyond  the  question  of  size,  of  course)  —  in  New^York 
there  is  a  friendlier  spirit  between  man  &  man  even  in  the 
streets,  which  extends  itself  at  times  too  much  into  a  disposi- 
tion to  know  each  other's  business ;  while  here  there  is  such  an 
utter  indifference  to  everybody  else  in  the  faces  &  the  walks  of 
everybody  as  they  plod  on  their  way,  that  one  is  not  surprised  to 
find  it  extend  even  to  the  cabbies,  who  never  look  at  you  unless 
you  hail  them,  and  who  under  no  circumstances  whatever 
solicit  you  to  ride. 

The  Theatres,  so  far  as  I  have  seen  them  here,  are  much 
better  than  they  have  been  reported.  I  do  not  find  them  dirty 
or  dingy  inside  —  though  the  entrances  are  queer  in  some  in- 
stances. But  the  Adelphi,  the  old  time  house  of  melodrama, 
where  'Leah'  had  its  300  night  run,  is  every  bit  as  clean,  as 
roomy  &  as  convenient  as  Wallack's,  while  the  Gaiety  is  (I 
think)  more  elegant  than  any  house  we  have.  I  shall  not  see 
the  real  London  favorites  for  a  month  or  more,  as  the  season 
does  not  begin  till  October.  I  went  to  the  Alhambra  (the 
Niblo's  Garden  I  should  class  it  of  London)  —  &  saw  a  very 
poor  comic  opera  &  Ballet  spectacle  called  Fatinitza  and  the 
Golden  Wreath.  It  had  been  running  a  hundred  nights  or  more, 
&  the  scenery  &  dresses,  though  they  bore  the  signs  of  taste  & 
elegance,  were  much  worn.  It  was  the  last  night  of  the  piece, 
and  I  saw  the  Prince  of  Wales  in  one  of  the  boxes,  —  a  row  of 
dark  little  rooms  extending  round  the  entire  first  circle.  He 
looks  fat  and  lazy.  There  is  one  thing  I  admire  about  the 
theatres  here ;  they  know  how  to  charge ;  in  most  of  them  the 
orchestra  stalls  are  10/ -($2.50)  and  the  dress  circle  6/ -or 
5/-  ($1.50  &  $1.25).  If  you  go  to  book  your  seat  in  advance 
they  charge  1/  (25  cts.)  extra.     I  want  to  see  a  London  First 


264  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Night.  The  opportunity  offers  Monday  coming.  Byron 
makes  his  first  appearance  and  produces  a  new  play,  —  at  the 
Haymarket.  So  I  wanted  to  secure  a  stall,  and  I  went  to  the 
box  office  of  the  theatre,  and  came  out  again  with  my  stall,  but 
minus  $2.75.  I  know  I  shall  relish  that  performance:  it  has 
been  as  expensive  as  early  fruit. 

In  one  of  my  strolls  I  passed  through  a  low  archway  that 
looked  like  a  carriage  entrance  to  one  of  the  houses  on  the 
strand  :  I  found  myself  in  a  large  court,  and  beyond  one  or  two 
narrow  passages,  some  trees  :  a  Church  was  on  the  left,  a  round 
old  stone  Church  :  everything  was  as  quiet  as  death  in  here, 
although  the  windows  of  the  buildings  on  either  hand  denoted 
occupancy ;  the  change  from  the  din  and  clatter  of  the  street 
outside  was  instantaneous ;  the  few  people  you  met  in  the  place 
seemed  to  wear  list  slippers  or  go  on  tip-toe,  so  noiselessly  did 
they  tread.  It  was  well  they  did  —  for  the  flagging  one  trod 
underfoot  was  composed  of  graveyard  tablets,  some  of  brown 
stone,  some  white,  all  stained  with  age  &  the  seasons'  change, 
and  most  of  the  inscriptions  worn  away.  The  dead  they  rep- 
resent actually  lie  beneath  the  passages  of  this  court; —  and  off 
in  one  corner  by  itself  on  a  stone  more  prominent  than  all  the 
others,  &  railed  off  from  the  rest,  I  read  this  inscription  :  'Here 
lies  Oliver  Goldsmith.'  It  was  so  unexpected  that  I  was 
startled  for  an  instant.  I  could  not  have  been  more  so  had 
the  creator  of  Dr.  Primrose  stood  before  me  in  his  own  person. 
I  learned  that  this  was  the  Old  Temple  grounds,  and  within  a 
hundred  yards  further  on  (outside  the  Temple  limits)  I  came 
upon  The  Old  Mitre  Tavern  site;  it  is  quite  modern  now;  but 
the  scent  of  the  rose  hangs  round  it  still." 

"  Liverpool,  September  18,  '78. 
I  went  last  night  to  see  Irving  —  who  is  playing  at  the 
Alexandra  Theatre  here :  a  roomy  and  convenient  but  very 
dingy  (almost  dirty)  place.  I  could  only  get  a  seat  on  a  back 
bench,  or  chair,  in  the  ist  balcony  —  for  crowded  houses  are 
the  rule  whenever  the  great  I.  appears.  The  play  was  Louis 
XI.  —  a  most  repulsive  character,  as  you  know,  for  an  actor  to 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  265 

grapple  with ;  and  I  fear  the  great  L  did  not  impress  me  with 
his  treatment  of  it.  In  his  frenzy  —  for  it  appears  to  be  a 
frenzy  with  him,  —  to  be  realistic  or  Natural  —  he  descends 
to  the  farceur's  tricks.  The  peculiarity  of  his  voice,  which  we 
have  heard  so  often  referred  to,  consists  of  sudden  and  unex- 
pected and  sometimes  absurd  rises  and  falls  —  and  I  can  only 
compare  it  to  a  man  speaking  half  of  a  long  sentence  while 
drawing  in  his  breath  and  letting  the  other  half  fly  out  while  he 
expels  the  breath.  One  of  his  stage  tricks  is  very  effective  but 
quite  unworthy  a  great  artist.  He  is  fond,  whenever  the  scene 
permits,  of  shutting  down  every  light  —  leaving  the  stage  in 
utter  darkness,  lit  only  by  the  solitary  lamp  or  dull  fire  which 
may  be  in  the  room  ;  while  he  has  directed  from  the  prompt 
place  or  the  flies  a  closely  focused  calcium  —  which  shines  only 
and  solely  upon  his  face  and  head  ;  so  that  you  can  only  see  a 
lot  of  spectral  figures  without  expression  moving  about  the 
scene  —  and  one  ghostly  lighted  face  shining  out  of  the  dark- 
ness ;  an  expressive  face  to  be  sure  —  but  after  all  the  entirety 
of  the  drama  disappears  and  a  conjuror-like  exhibition  of  a 
sphinx-head  wonder  takes  its  place.  The  enthusiasm  was  not 
great  —  and  perhaps  this  is  not  one  of  the  great  I.'s  best  parts. 
I  shall  not  give  you  an  opinion  about  him  till  I  see  him  again. 
So  far  I've  only  described  him  so  you  may  see  him  as  I  did. 

Monday  evening :  before  leaving  London  I  attended  the 
'first  night'  of  Byron's  new  comedy  of  'Conscience  Money.' 
First  Act:  three  men  in  love  with  one  woman,  —  honorable 
party;  sentimental  villain;  small  boy  of  18.  Honorable  man 
succeeds  in  getting  her;  small  boy  of  18  faints;  villain  says: 
'I  will  bide  me  time!'  And  in  the  midst  of  Honorable  Man's 
joy  his  elder  brother  supposed  to  be  dead  turns  up  ;  not  to  claim 
the  estate,  but  to  draw  'conscience  money'  (why  so  called 
hard  to  say)  from  his  younger  brother.  Elder  B.  very  dirty,  & 
can't  reveal  himself  because  is  under  suspicion  of  murder  years 
ago  in  Colonies.  Honorable  Man's  agony  because  he  cannot 
reveal  true  state  of  his  condition  to  lovely  bride.  Second  Act: 
Honorable  Man  taken  to  gambling  &  staying  from  home  to 
conceal  his  Agony  from  wife ;    wife  at  mercy  of  villain  —  who 


266  THE  LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

poisons  her  mind  with  suggestions  of  another  woman  :  Friend 
of  Honorable  Man  exposes  villain ;  villain  exposes  to  wife  & 
entire  company  the  true  state  of  Honorable  Man's  finances,  the 
existence  of  his  elder  brother,  &c.  &c.  Hon.  Man  kicks  villain 
out  and  goes  into  lodgings  with  wife.  Third  Act:  Hon.  Man 
turns  author,  small  boy  of  i8  turns  up  as  good  friend  and  reveals 
news  that  elder  brother  is  not  guilty  of  murder,  but  the  villain 
is;  brother  enters;  all  happy;  &  all  go  back  to  Fine  House. 
Curtain  !  Of  course  like  all  of  Byron's  plays  the  dialogue  is 
witty;  and  it  was  very  warmly  received  by  the  audience.  The 
Theatre  was  'The  Haymarket,'  a  good  sized  place  of  the  old- 
fashioned  kind,  with  about  the  finest  hearing  qualities  I  have 
yet  found  in  the  London  theatres.  I  met  some  N.  Y.  acquaint- 
ances between  the  acts  ;  was  introduced  to  the  proprietors  of 
The  Era  &  The  Figaro  &  received  warm  invitations  to  call  on 
them;   &  am  to  be  put  up  at  the  Savage  Club." 

"London,  41  Jermyn  Street. 

Sunday,  Sept.  22,  '78. 

Jim  arrived  quite  safe  on  Thursday. 

Friday  we  gave  to  lodging-hunting  here  —  and  yesterday  to 
moving;  so  that  from  this  spot  I  date  my  London  lodging  ex- 
periences to  you.  Jermyn  St.  is  but  a  few  minutes'  stroll  from 
St.  James'  Park;  it  leads  out  of  The  Haymarket;  and  is  be- 
tween Piccadilly  &  Pall  Mall,  which  run  parallel  with  it.  It  is 
a  'Lodgings'  street,  however,  and  rather  quiet.  I  have  the 
whole  of  the  first  or  ground  floor;  a  large  sitting  room  &  bed- 
room —  the  latter  being  supplied  with  two  beds.  The  apart- 
ments are  as  cosy  as  though  I  had  furnished  them  myself.  The 
walls  are  absolutely  reeking  with  'objects  of  virtue  &  bigotry' 
and  the  'brie  and  brats'  that  encumber  the  floor  give  the  whole 
such  an  air  of  taste  and  smell  from  the  antique  that  when  I  woke 
up  this  morning  I  really  thought  I  was  in  a  corner  of  '  Sypher's  late 
Marley's'  in  New  York.  In  sober  earnest,  however,  the  place 
does  wear  a  homelike  air,  which  is  not  only  for  that  reason  pref- 
erable to  the  bare  walls  and  empty  corners  of  hotel  life,  but  the 
price  is  nearer  my  purse  ;   for  we  give  but  £2-2s.  a  week  for  the 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  267 

rooms  and  4/  a  day  for  breakfast  —  the  only  meal  we  will  take 
here,  as  my  exploring  soul  yearns  to  investigate  the  dining  places 
of  this  birthplace  of  Roast  Beef  &  'Plum  both.'  .... 

I  went  last  night  to  the  Folly  Theatre  :  a  regular  little  Jap- 
anese glove  box.  It  is  about  |  the  size  of  the  old  5th  Ave.  the- 
atre; holds  about  250  in  the  whole  lower  floor  and  140  or  less 
in  the  dress  circle.  The  family  circle  is  so  low  upon  the  D.  C. 
that  a  tall  man  in  the  latter  touches  the  ceiling  with  his  hat. 
It  is  very  uniquely  decorated  a  la  Japanese;  has  old  china  & 
odds  &  ends  hung  on  the  lobby  walls  &  the  passages,  and  is 
situated  in  the  heart  of  the  busy  city.  It  was  full,  of  course. 
First  nights  here  always  are  —  they  have  not  lost  their  interest 
even  after  several  years  of  poor  plays,  and  the  audience  was 
quite  an  elegant  one.  The  plays  were  poor;  the  first  was 
an  adaptation  of  'La  Venue,'  which  you  read  once  —  and  for 
which  I  paid  the  French  authors  $600.  It  is  a  most  attenu- 
ated trifle  —  but  being  well  played  passed  off  well.  The  bur- 
lesque of  the  evening  in  which  Lydia  Thompson  played  was  the 
emptiest  of  empty  things.  .  .  .  The  stars  of  the  night  were 
simply  'local'  favorites  and  not  artists.  Lionel  Brough,  the 
comedian  of  whom  I  have  been  hearing  everybody  talk  for  years, 
was  simply  a  sort  of  Hardenbergh  —  only  a  trifle  lighter  on  his 
legs,  though  a  trifle  more  stolid  of  face. 

I  called  on  Friday  at  the  Era  office  —  as  per  invitation,  & 
saw  the  proprietor  &  editor.  .   .   . 

.  .  .  The  deserted  streets,  the  shut  shops,  the  awful  quiet 
which  reigns  over  everything  and  everybody  on  the  'holy 
Sabbath'  have  smothered  in  me  whatever  hilarity  may  have 
lurked  in  my  bosom.  If  these  two  Sundays  in  London  are 
samples  of  all  the  others  I  shall  hereafter  depart  out  of  this 
blessed  town  every  Saturday  night,  &  devote  myself  to  sight- 
seeing in  the  suburbs  till  Monday  comes  to  revigorate  the 
town.  It  is  a  fact  that  everything  is  funereal  here  from 
midnight  Saturday  till  six  p.m.  Sunday  —  when  the  restau- 
rants open,  the  taverns  throw  wide  their  doors,  lights  are 
lit,  the  crowd  emerges  from  its  hiding  places,  &  life  begins 
again." 


268  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"41  Jermyn  St.,  London. 

Thursday,  Sept.  26,  '78. 

I  have  taken  some  lovely  rambles  —  going  one  day  to 
Hampton  Court :  where  I  thought  of  the  romance  you  once 
began  in  one  of  our  boyish  newspapers  by  that  title;  and  one 
day  I  went  to  Westminster  Abbey ;  and  another  day  to  Syden- 
ham to  the  crystal  palace.  Do  you  think  if  we  put  up  a  crystal 
palace  at  Riverdale  or  Yonkers  the  public  of  our  noble  country 
would  make  hourly  pilgrimages  to  see  it.?  And  make  it,  long 
after  its  'World's  Fair'  attractions  had  disappeared,  a  profitable 
concern?  No  indeed.  The  Palace  is  as  large  I  should  think 
as  both  the  Philadelphia  Exhibition  buildings  in  one ;  it  is 
simply  a  Bowery  or  Sixth  Avenue  sort  of  bazaar  now ;  with 
stands  full  of  cheap  goods  to  attract  the  country  eye.  There 
are  two  theatres  inside  of  it,  each  as  large  as  the  Grand  Opera 
House ;  &  a  concert  room  quite  as  big  as  Steinway  Hall.  We 
saw  the  'Stranger'  bloodlessly  murdered  in  one;  and  The 
Hanlons  perform  in  the  other;  besides  a  cheap  circus  out  on 
the  grounds.  There  was  also  an  annual  fruit  &  vegetable  show 
going  on  in  which  I  saw  grapes  &  peaches  and  potatoes  that  put 
the  giant  fruit  of  California  to  the  blush.  John  Turniptops  and 
Molley  Barleycorns  were  everywhere  about  —  &  the  view  of  the 
English  countryman  on  his  tour  was  as  good  a  sight  as  any  I  saw. 

The  visit  to  Westminster  was  one  of  those  excursions  to 
one's  grandfather's  grave  which  it  takes  two  or  three  weeks  to 
get  over.  We  got  in  at  Afternoon  Service  time ;  and  the  voices 
of  the  recitant  and  of  the  boy  choir  sounded  through  that  im- 
mense space  like  the  sighs  of  children  in  a  wilderness.  I'm 
not  going  to  make  a  guide  book  of  my  letter,  &  so  I  shall  not 
tell  you  of  all  that  struck  me ;  except  this,  that  in  the  chapel 
devoted  to  the  royal  family  I  noticed  away  in  a  corner  a  dia- 
mond-shaped tablet  which  noted  the  spot  where  Charles  the 
Second  lay  —  while  above  him  framed  in  the  wall  was  a  mag- 
nificent memorial  full  of  emblematic  designs  &  a  full  length 
figure  of  General  Monk.  Indeed  the  finest  monuments  in  the 
Abbey  are  not  those  of  the  kings  and  queens  of  the  world  — 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  269 

but  of  those  who  ruled  in  the  empire  of  War,  of  Science  &  of 
Literature. 

I  shall  tell  you  of  Hampton  Court  another  day. 

My  acquaintance  here  is  beginning  to  enlarge.  I  have  let- 
ters and  invitations  from  Mrs.  Wood,  Wyndham,  and  Ledger 
of  the  Era  —  &  have  had  calls  from  Farjeon  and  Matthison  (who 
used  to  be  in  my  Company  at  the  original  theatre)  &  who  is  an 
author  here  of  some  note.  All  are  most  cordial,  &  Wyndham, 
on  whom  I  called,  thinks  I  ought  to  stay  over  here." 

Mrs.  John  Wood,  favorite  of  the  English  as  well  as  of 
the  American  theatres,  was  heartily  glad  to  meet  her  for- 
mer manager  and  the  author  of  the  congenial  part  Peach- 
blossom  in  "Under  the  Gaslight,"  wherein  she  had  often 
disported.  She  appropriated  the  name  for  her  corre- 
spondence when  she  did  not  use  that  of  the  muse  which 
the  American  critics  once  bestowed  upon  her.  Being  at 
the  seaside  when  he  reached  London,  she  telephoned  from 
Doon  House,  Westgate,  as  soon  as  news  of  his  arrival 
reached  her,  and  wrote  next  day  in  her  own  familiar  way  : 

^^     ,        _,  "Sept.  24th,  Westgate. 

My  dear  rerson 

Nothing  shall  prevent  my  seeing  you.  I  am  in  an  unin- 
habited Island.  Would  you  like  to  come  here  &  be  taken  to 
Ramsgate,  &c. .?  You  leave  Victoria  Station  by  Chatham  & 
Dover  line  at  10  :  48,  arriving  here  at  one  o'clock,  —  two  hours, 
—  where  you  would  behold  your  Peachblossom  on  the  plank. 
If  you  don't  like  this  I'll  leave  here  on  Thursday  and  be  at 
Gordon  Square  by  one  —  where  you  should  have  been  received 
en  regal  had  I  been  in  town.  I  leave  here  for  good  Oct  8th, 
and  on  your  return  from  Paris  I  place  my  house  at  your  disposal. 

Now  my  dear  fellow,  one  line  or  a  telegram  to  say  you  come 
here,  or  I  will  come  to  you,  and  there  we  are.  I  am  busy  here 
just  now  with  a  wary  Farmer  &  a  piece  of  land  &  tomorrow  have 
some  appoint's  to  keep  or  I  would  come.  Now  hurry  up  &  be 
here  by  one  tomorrow  Wednesday  to     your  Peachblossom." 


270  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"Doon  House. 
My  dear  Man 

If  you  should  happily  arrive  by  the  one  train  &  I  am  not 
on  the  plank,  the  intelligent  guard  will  look  out  for  a  long,  tall, 
thin  gentleman  &  hand  him  this  &  describe  the  position  of  my 
mansion,  of  which  abode  you  will  please  take  instant  possession, 
and  in  about  half  an  hour  after  if  my  dogs  leave  anything  of 
you  you  will  behold  some  one  you  may  remember. 

Yours  until  we  meet  and  long  after, 

M.  Wood." 

"  No.  Ten  Adelphi  Terrace,  London  :   Sept.  30,  '78. 

No  wonder  Garrick  lived  on  this  Terrace.  I  wonder  he  ever 
died  here  —  but  I  believe  he  did  not  end  his  days  in  the  house 
near  by  which  is  marked  with  a  slab  in  honor  of  his  residence. 

I  think  the  place  will  be  better  than  medicine  to  me.  I've 
felt  my  spirits  rise  up  to  the  nineties  since  I've  moved  in.  I'm 
in  the  midst  of  all  the  Theatre  Clubs  :  the  Savage  :  the  Junior 
Garrick  :  &  the  Green  Room  :  in  all  of  which  I  have  been  made 
an  honorary  member. 

Farjeon  thinks  it's  a  splendid  place  for  me.  I  accepted  his 
invitation  yesterday  for  a  visit  to  Finchley,  where  he  is  stop- 
ping at  the  country  place  of  Mr.  Burgess  —  the  head  of  the 
Moore  &  Burgess  Minstrels ;  Mr.  B.  is  not  a  corkist  himself, 
he  is  simply  the  manager  —  who  has  been  so  successful  in  his 
management  that  he  has  not  closed  his  minstrel  show  (except 
on  Sundays)  for  fourteen  years.  He  and  his  wife  gave  me  a 
hearty  English  welcome,  &  I  was  introduced  there  to  Lionel 
Brough  &  his  family,  who  also  came  to  spend  the  day.  Farjeon 
&  Maggie  seem  to  be  almost  at  home  there,  and  all  combined 
to  make  the  day  most  cheery  for  me.  Brough  is  one  of  the 
best  of  the  London  comedians,  &  quite  a  popular  man  among 
the  professionals.  He  was  fifty  per  cent  above  the  American 
comedian  in  every  social  way.  We  took  a  stroll  during  the 
day,  out  into  the  English  fields,  through  thin  green  lanes,  and 
among  the  old  oaks  &  odd  old  houses.  .  .  .  Finchley  is  but  25 
minutes  by  rail  from  London,  &  yet  it  is  a  rural  Paradise  where 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  271 

everything  is  peace  &  calm,  and  not  a  murmur  or  a  sign  of  the 
mighty  city  is  heard  or  seen.  Mr.  &  Mrs.  Farjeon  wanted  to 
be  remembered  to  you  most  particularly. 

I  think  I  told  you  in  my  last  of  a  visit  I  made  to  see  Mrs. 
Wood  :  I  found  her  in  a  Lodge  down  at  Westgate  on  Sea  about 
two  miles  from  Margate ;  a  select  &  sedate  watering  place. 
She  is  to  give  me  a  little  party  at  which  I  shall  meet  Frank 
Marshall  &  Burnand  ('Happy  Thoughts')  &  we  think  they 
will  work  with  me  to  give  Lemons  &  Bonanza  a  show.  But 
even  this  is  hereafter ;  I  must  wait  for  their  return  to  town. 
'Wait  —  wait!'  is  the  only  advice  I  hear  on  any  side. 

I  have  found  little  or  nothing  worth  noting  except  the  ex- 
quisite acting  of  an  eccentric  artist  at  the  Prince  of  Wales  The- 
atre, named  Cecil  (Arthur  Cecil)  —  I  have  never  seen  his  equal, 
nor  any  one  to  approach  him  for  effective  natural  acting,  on  any 
stage.  He  and  Terry  of  the  Gaiety,  —  whom  I've  seen  a  second 
time,  &  whom  I  find  to  be  a  most  admirable  actor,  equally  good 
in  burlesque,  in  singing  &  in  pure  comedy,  —  stand  above  all 
of  their  class. 

On  Saturday  I  attended  the  opening  of  Drury  Lane  Theatre, 
• —  Winter's  Tale  was  given.  It  is  situated  in  a  dirty  narrow 
byway,  is  dingy  &  low  looking  outside.  But  within  —  all  is 
different.  Spacious  rotunda  &  gallery ;  broad  vestibules ; 
roomy  corridors ;  grand  staircases,  all  stone  or  marble,  and  the 
auditorium  extensive  in  its  accommodations.  The  house  was 
crowded.  The  applause  generous.  Indeed  /  find  the  English 
audiences  much  more  easily  pleased,  &  really  more  good  natured 
than  our  own ;  at  least  they  will  endure  a  poor  performance  to 
the  end  with  a  gracefulness  which  our  people  never  show  — 
for  they  get  up  &  go  out  if  a  thing  is  dull.  Winter's  Tale  was 
not  dull,  but  it  is  wearisome  at  times ;  and  neither  the  acting 
nor  the  spectacle  of  Saturday  night  aroused  much  enthusiasm. 
The  Autolycus  was  the  worst  I  ever  saw.  Old  Ring  or  Whiting 
would  have  been  better. 

Full  houses  are  the  rule  here.  Byron's  new  piece  has  failed 
&  is  to  be  withdrawn,  but  even  that  draws  fairly.  Everything 
is  doing  well  here  —  &  while  the  contrary  is  the  story  from  New 


272  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

York  I  think  I'm  wise  in  being  here  idle  instead  of  there  grow- 
ing grey  &  haggard.   .   .   . 

The  theatres  I've  taken  in  since  I  last  wrote  you,  are  the 
Canterbury  Music  Hall  over  on  the  Surrey  side,  &  the  Grecian 
Theatre,  away  up  to  the  northern  limit  of  London.  The  Music 
Hall  is  a  very  showy  but  gaudy  place  ;  quite  as  large  as  the 
Academy  of  Music ;  where  I  heard  a  lot  of  very  worn  voices 
singing  anything  but  taking  music;  except  one  young  woman 
named  Nelly  Power  who  had  a  very  much  worn  face,  but  sang 
exceedingly  well  &  gave  a  bit  of  Irish  vocalism  that  would  have 
sent  Tony  Pastor's  audiences  wild.  I  saw  our  old  friend  Bar- 
toletti  here,  and  her  corsage  was  lower  than  ever  —  &  her 
skirts  if  anything  shorter.  The  Grecian  is  a  melodramatic 
temple  devoted  to  the  gods  who  pay  8  cts.  to  go  to  the  gallery 

—  25  cents  to  the  balcony —  12  cents  to  the  Pit  and  38  cts. 
to  the  stalls.  I  indulged  in  the  luxury  of  the  stalls  —  and  saw 
an  entirely  new  and  original  drama  entitled  'Sentenced  to 
Death  or  Paid  in  his  Own  Coin!'  It  is  by  Mr.  Conquest. 
Mr.  Conquest  is  the  manager  of  the  theatre ;  he  is  also  the  pro- 
prietor; he  is  also  his  own  leading  actor  and  comedian.  He 
played  on  this  occasion  a  villainous  old  file  named  'Hoyley 
Snayle,'  who  is  comic  for  two  acts  with  the  refrain  'I  likes  to 
do  good  when  I  can';  then  becomes  melodramatic  in  the  third 
act  &  attempts  a  murder  and  puts  the  crime  on  another;  then 
emerges  into  the  tragic  at  the  end  of  the  play,  and  after  having 
a  struggle  on  a  church  roof  with  the  unjustly  accused  man, 
makes  a  gymnastic  leap  (at  which  the  gods  nearly  shook  the 
theatre  with  delight),  and  finally  dies  confessing  his  guilt,  to 
slow  music,  and  (of  course)  uttering  his  almost  forgotten  re- 
frain, —  I — a — likes — a — a — to  do — a — ugh — a — good   when   I 

—  (dies  &  curtain).  He  was  a  good  actor  of  his  school  —  or 
for  any  theatre;  and  indeed  the  whole  company  was  much 
better  than  I  hoped  to  see.  Between  the  plays  —  there  are 
always  two  plays  equally  important  at  the  Grecian  —  (It  was 
the  'Octoroon'  that  followed  on  this  occasion,  but  I  did  not 
wait  to  see  it)  —  the  audience  or  all  of  it  that  cares  to  do  so 
adjourns  from  the  theatre  &  goes  into  a  large  open  space  or 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  273 

courtyard,  the  immense  center  of  which  is  boarded  over  for 
dancing;  the  place  is  lit  with  colored  lamps  almost  innumer- 
able; the  band  is  in  a  showy  balcony  by  themselves;  there  are 
shooting  alleys  ;  &  promenade  walks  ;  bars  ;  refreshment  rooms  ; 
coffee  counters  —  and  all  that  the  humblest  heart  could  crave; 
including  accommodating  ladies,  ready  to  waltz  or  to  join  you 
at  the  bar  or  the  lunch  table.  The  scene  was  very  animating 
I  can  assure  you  :  and  probably  the  most  novel  one  I've  come 
across  since  I've  been  in  London!" 

"  Adelphi  Terrace,  London  :   October  6  '78. 

I  saw  Beaky  the  other  day  going  to  the  cabinet  meeting  in 
Downing  Street.  Disraeli  looks  very  old ;  I've  no  doubt  he 
is  old;  but  he  is  bent;  yellow;  and  weak.  I  simply  saw  him 
as  he  stepped  from  his  carriage  (quite  a  plain  'Transfer  Com- 
pany' looking  aifair)  into  the  official  residence  of  Salisbury; 
but  the  sight  was  a  good  one  —  and  the  little  crowd  that  had 
assembled  there  to  see  him  crowded  round  as  though  he  was  the 
big  elephant  of  the  show.  It  reminded  me  of  a  New  York 
crowd  watching  at  a  hotel  door  to  see  some  illustrious  stranger, 
only  this  was  a  most  respectable-looking  well  dressed  crowd  — 
of  ladies  &  gentlemen.  They  lifted  their  hats  &  waved  their 
handkerchiefs  as  he  passed  from  carriage  to  house  —  but  did 
not  cheer. 

I  have  had  altogether  a  busy  and  delightful  week  of  rambling 
from  Regent's  Park  to  the  Isle  of  Dogs,  and  I've  absorbed  the 
sights  of  the  Thames  from  Greenwich  to  Richmond.  I  went 
to  Greenwich  for  Whitebait,  but  found  the  season  was  over. 
Not  even  my  national  appeal  to  the  landlord  of  the  Crown  & 
Sceptre  that  I  had  come  all  the  way  from  America  to  try  his 
Whitebait  could  procure  me  even  a  midget.  I  had  heard  that 
they  served  them  up  in  21  different  styles  at  Greenwich,  and 
got  up  a  most  gorgeous  sort  of  appetite  so  as  to  take  in  the 
entire  21  styles  —  and  had  to  take  boiled  cod. 

I  fared  somewhat  better  at  Richmond  :  I  had  gone  up  in 
the  train  to  Kew;  had  roamed  round  the  squatty  little  village, 
and  rambled  through  the  old  Park  and  palace  walks.     I  was 


274  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN    DALY 

hunting  for  the  Star  and  Garter  Inn  on  Richmond  Hill,  famous 
for  its  Maids  of  Honor,  but  my  antiquarian  soul  was  smothered 
in  disgust  on  finding  that  the  original  hostelry  had  been  burnt 
down  &  in  its  place  had  risen  one  of  the  finest  modern  hotels 
in  the  country  about  London.  I  turned  from  that  at  once  & 
sought  a  less  pretending  Inn  over  the  door  of  which  a  sign  in- 
formed all  passers-by  that  his  royal  highness  the  Prince  of 
Wales  had  honored  it  with  his  custom.  ...  I  took  my  first 
taste  of  them  there;  and  paid  for  them  in  the  unkindest  five 
hours  of  dyspepsia  I've  had  since  I  arrived  in  England.  It  was 
a  very  old  Maid  of  Honor  who  served  me,  and  as  they  were 
cheap,  (a  penny  each)  I  ordered  half  a  dozen  &  ate  them  all. 
I  want  no  more.  —  Do  you  require  to  be  told  that  they  are  an 
indigestible  but  fascinating  pastry  :  with  a  drop  of  lemon  and 
cocoanut  custard  in  the  center.^ 

One  day  of  the  week  I  went  to  Rochester  and  Gadshill.  Ram- 
bled through  the  ancient  castle  ruins,  with  its  walls  twenty  feet 
thick  in  places  - — ■  now  the  home  of  a  thousand  tame  pigeons  — 
and  groped  with  the  sexton  of  the  old  Cathedral  Church  through 
the  crypt  where  Edwin  Drood  was  spirited  away  —  and  then 
along  rural  English  lanes  I  sought  the  home  of  Dickens,  the 
hill  where  Falstafi^  and  Prince  Henry  larked,  and  where  one 
can  almost  fancy  Shakespere  himself  rambled ;  and  satisfied  my 
thirsty  throat  at  the  old  inn  nearby  full  of  Dickens  mementos 
—  and  where  the  author  of  David  Copperfield  rested  himself 
many  a  time  on  his  way  home." 

"  Monday,  Oct  7th. 
My  evenings  have  been  all  occupied  with  the  plays,  but 
none  of  them  worth  a  letter.  Three  failures  since  I  have  been 
here ;  Byron's  comedy  at  the  Haymarket,  Famie's  burlesque 
at  the  Folly;  and  a  piece  at  the  Gaiety  called  'The  Lady  of 
Lyons  Married  &  Settled.'  Claude  is  henpecked  &  in  love 
with  Pauline's  laundress.  Beauseant  reveals  Claude's  perfidy 
to  Pauline,  and  P.  follows  C  &  the  washerwoman  to  his  mother's 
old  cottage,  where  the  stuff  is  stopped  by  the  green  curtain  com- 
ing down. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  275 

I  was  invited  to  a  dinner  at  the  Junior  Garrick  Club  Satur- 
day evening  &  introduced  to  quite  a  number  of  the  old  actors 
&  new  journalists.  Their  reception  was  most  cordial,  and 
health  &  success  was  drunk  to  me.  I  think  some  good  results 
will  grow  out  of  the  meetings  there  —  for  already  I  have  any 
number  of  invitations  to  examine  some  of  the  principal  the- 
atres behind  the  curtain  ;  &  everything  that  brings  me  nearer 
the  footlights  will  bring  me  I  believe  nearer  the  public.  I  was 
carried  off  from  the  dinner  by  George  Conquest,  who  is  one  of 
the  richest  managers  &  best  actors  in  England  —  I  wrote  you 
about  his  theatre.  He  took  me  all  over  it  on  Saturday  —  pref- 
acing his  kindness  by  suggesting  that  he  owed  me  some  atten- 
tion in  return  for  being  one  of  the  English  robbers  who  had 
despoiled  me  of  my  railroad  scene,  and  one  of  the  hundreds 
who  had  played  my  Gaslight.   .  .  ." 

"Adelphi  Terrace,  Oct.  loth,  1878. 
I  feel  that  I  have  a  delicate  path  to  tread  among  the  authors 
and  managers  of  London  ;  and  they  are  all  doing  more  or  less 
well.  It  is  not  here  as  with  us;  a  play  with  us  is  made  or 
damned  the  first  night;  in  London  a  first  night's  failure  can 
be  built  up  by  patience  &  perseverance  to  run  a  year;  which  is 
better  for  the  actor,  the  author  &  the  manager  than  our  unfair 
'no  redemption  policy.'  Still,  two  produced  here  —  &  well 
received  on  the  opening  night  —  are  condemned  &  withdrawn. 
One  is  the  burlesque  at  the  Folly,  produced  by  Lydia  Thomp- 
son, &  the  other  is  Byron's  comedy  at  the  Haymarket.  Clarke 
is  playing  the  Rivals  &  will  produce  in  a  few  weeks  Les  Four- 
chambaults,  which  Albery  has  written  up,  &  in  which  Mrs. 
Wood  will  probably  play  the  principal  female  part.  At  Drury 
Lane  Phelps  the  tragedian  is  to  follow  with  Winter's  Tale  till 
Christmas,  &  then  they  give  the  Pantomime.  At  the  Adelphi 
the  Celebrated  Case  is  running  to  fair  houses.  At  the  Cri- 
terion Pink  Dominoes  has  passed  its  500th  night  &  they  look 
for  250  more.  Our  Boys  was  played  the  1200th  time  Satur- 
day last  &  is  booked  for  the  2000th.  'Pinafore,'  a  clever 
(satirical)  opera  comique  will  probably  be  played  for  3  months 
longer  at  the  Comique,  &c.  &c.  &c. 


276  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

A  dozen  plays  are  ready  at  each  of  the  dozen  successful  the- 
atres when  their  present  'runs'  are  out  —  and  a  dozen  native 
authors  stand  ready  with  more  if  these  give  out. 

Wilkie  Collins  is  not  in  town  —  but  I  have  written  him  & 
I  suppose  shall  hear  from  him  in  time :  Mrs.  Wood  promises 
me  an  introduction  to  Charles  Reade  —  though  Reade  will  be 
of  no  service  to  me,  as  he  is  stage-struck  about  his  own  plays 
just  now. 

I  have  an  invitation  through  Mrs.  Wood  from  Labouchere, 
a  theatrical  and  literary  power  here,  to  visit  him  at  his  villa 
(formerly  Alexander  Pope's)  at  Twickenham.  I  am  to  go  Sun- 
day. Something  may  lead  from  this.  He  is  the  lessee  of  one 
of  the  closed  theatres  here :  The  Queen's ;  the  other  (the  St. 
James)  is  owned  by  Lord  Newry  —  to  whom  I  am  also  shortly 
to  be  introduced  —  when  he  gets  back  from  shooting.  They 
are  both  good  theatres  —  but  are  considered  bad  property  — 
perhaps  badly  managed.  Farjeon  thinks  the  Queen's  worth 
trying.  It  is  in  a  fair  locality  I  think  —  On  Long  Acre,  just 
facing  Covent  Garden  theatre,  within  one  square  of  Drury 
Lane,  only  two  or  three  blocks  from  the  Lyceum.  I  think  I 
should  like  to  give  the  London  Public  a  taste  of  my  quality 
from  that  standpoint." 

"  10  Adelphi  Terrace,  London,  Monday,  Oct.  14. 

Old  (English)  Probabilities  has  been  prognosticating  a  storm 
for  this  tight  little  island  for  a  week  past,  but  young  Actualities 
has  fought  it  off —  and  today  and  yesterday  have  been  as  like 
our  lovely  Indian  summer  as  a  pair  of  twins.  Most  people 
here  say  I  must  have  brought  the  stock  of  American  weather 
which  they  have  been  enjoying  ever  since  my  arrival,  over  in 
my  valise  —  and  let  it  loose  as  soon  as  I  got  in  sight  of  land. 
At  least  so  they  said  at  the  Savage  Club  the  other  day  (Sat- 
urday) where  I  was  invited  to  their  inaugural  dinner  of  the 
season.  I  met  the  manager  of  Drury  Lane  there  and  have 
been  invited  to  a  sociable  dinner  some  day  this  week,  and 
afterwards  am  to  be  introduced  to  the  stage  of  Old  Drury.  I 
need  not  tell  you  we  mingled  our  tears    together   over    remi- 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  277 

niscences  of  Shakesperian  failure  and  'loss'  —  for  his  revival 
of  the  'Winter's  Tale'  is  not  making  him  any  money.  In- 
deed as  I  get  at  the  under  facts  here  I  find  that  only  the  im- 
mense sixpenny  theatres  of  the  south  and  east  end  of  ^London, 
or  the  very  small  comedy  theatres  —  where  the  stalls  are  10/- 
and  the  dress  circle  8/-  and  7/-  are  really  footing  up  any- 
thing on  the  profit  side.  I  went  to  the  'Standard'  after 
the  dinner  Saturday  —  nearly  a  two  mile  drive,  at  the  east 
end,  and  found  it  to  be  one  of  the  finest  theatres  in  the  metrop- 
olis. It  is  fully  as  large  a  place  as  our  Academy ;  has  four 
tiers  and  an  acre  of  space  called  the  pit.  They  were  playing 
an  English  adaptation  of  the  French  version  of  the  American 
Uncle  Tom,  in  which  Eva  is  restored  to  life  and  Tom  does  not 
die.  The  inventive  Frenchman  has  also  created  a  mate  for 
Topsy  in  the  character  of  a  fancy  darkey  named  Julius  —  and 
the  two  dancefbreakdowns  together,  and  sing  comic  duets 
and  talk  comic  trash  in  a  mixture  of  Cockney  Irish  and  Scotch, 
which  the  innocent  (or  rather  guilty)  actors  imagine  is  a  good 
imitation  of  the  genuine  canebrake  lingo.  Five  of  the  London 
theatres  are  playing  'Uncle  Tom'  now,  but  no  one  place  is 
hurting  the  other.  When  I  remarked  to  the  manager  of  the 
Princess'  Theatre  the  other  evening  that  the  opposition  must 
affect  him  he  said  that  there  was  no  such  thing  as  opposition  in 
London;  that  each  place  had  its  own  special  attendance;  and 
it  seems  so. 

Yesterday  I  spent  the  day  and  night  at  the  villa  of  Mr. 
Henry  Labouchere  at  Twickenham;  where  I  was  'right  roy- 
ally' welcomed  and  entertained  by  Mr.  L  and  his  wife —  (for- 
merly Henrietta  Hodson,  a  comedy  lady  here).  Mrs.  Wood 
also  came  down  during  the  day;  and  what  with  boating  on 
the  Thames,  strolling  through  the  grounds,  dining,  supping  and 
talking,  I  think  I  spent  one  of  my  most  enjoyable  days  in 
England,  thus  far.  Labouchere  is  the  editor  of  Truth,  &  part 
owner  of  the  Daily  News,  the  daily  paper  Dickens  started. 
He  is  lessee  of  The  Queen's  Theatre,  which  like  the  5th  Avenue 
has  had  its  successes  &  its  failures  —  &  is  now  closed.  And 
he  is  a  thorough  man  of  the  world.     He  was  full  and  free  in 


278  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

his  information  upon  every  topic  most  interesting  to  me,  and 
I  think  the  day  most  profitably  as  well  as  pleasantly  spent  which 
I  gave  to  Twickenham.  .  .  .  His  wife  &  Mrs.  Wood  suggested 
that  The  Olympic  is  the  place  I  ought  to  be  'in'  .  .  .  Lord 
Londesborough,  with  whom  he  is  intimate,  I  believe  ...  is  at 
the  back  of  the  Olympic  management.  I  ought  to  tell  you 
that  the  villa  is  built  on  the  grounds  once  owned  by  Pope,  and 
is  erected  on  the  very  site  of  Pope's  villa.  The  place  was  cut 
up  into  residential  and  garden  lots  many  years  ago,  &  this 
especial  portion  contains  the  only  remaining  relic  of  the  Past  — 
the  queer  little  grotto  &  arched  passage  built  under  the  road- 
way, &  which  he  used  to  pass  through  in  going  from  his  house 
to  the  river  which  washes  the  grassy  bank  ten  yards  from  its 
entrance.  This  morning  before  breakfast  &  before  any  of  the 
rest  were  up  I  strolled  out  into  the  lanes  &  shaded  roads  as  far 
as  Teddington  &  Kingston,  passing  Horace  Walpole's  mag- 
nificent home  &  park  on  Strawberry  Hill,  and  coming  back 
along  the  path  by  the  Thames.  But  I  shall  not  extend  my 
rhapsodies.  What  I've  written  must  make  you  wish  to  be  with 
me  as  I  —  a  hundred  times  every  week  —  do  say  to  myself 
'Oh!  if  Joe  were  only  here!'  I  wonder  if  you  would  tire  of 
the  long  walks  I  take.  My  legs  never  seem  to  give  out —  and 
I  know  I  shall  soon  be  as  familiar  with  every  London  locality 
and  many  of  these  memorable  suburban  spots  as  the  oldest 
inhabitant. 

Before  I  was  suffered  to  return  to  town  yesterday  Mrs.  Wood 
&  Mrs.  Labouchere  took  me  to  see  The  Queen's  Laundry.  .  .  . 
If  I  had  but  the  pen  of  a  Willis  or  a  Gath  what  a  spicy  letter  I 
could  have  sent  'from  our  special  correspondent'  about  this 
royal  laundry  and  the  items  I  picked  up  there.  Damask  table 
cloths  worked  by  hand  worth  125  guineas  each,  and  linen 
sheets  finer  and  softer  than  gossamer  muslin,  and  pillow  cover- 
ings in  use  since  1800  &  yet  almost  as  good  as  new,  are  but  a 
poor  'showing'  of  what  I  stored  away  in  'me  'ed'  for  future 
use.  .  .  . 

Business  here  (I  mean  commercial  houses)  have  been  having 
a   shaky  time  for  a   fortnight,   ever  since   the  Glasgow   Bank 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  279 

failed  for  its  little  £8,000,000  (forty  million  dollars).  I  tell 
you  I  could  see  the  blue  in  the  faces  of  the  anxious  and  hurry- 
ing crowds  down  Lombard  and  Broad  and  Threadneedle 
Streets ;  and  the  very  columns  of  the  Royal  Exchange  shook 
with  the  shivers  which  its  members  had  for  a  few  days." 

"Adelphi  Terrace,  Oct.  18,  '78. 

I  had  a  pleasant  call  from  Robert  Stoepel  yesterday  and  we 
dined  together.  He  has  just  left  Bijou  in  Paris  at  a  convent 
school.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Bateman  gave  up  the  Lyceum  Theatre,  & 
Irving  has  taken  it.  He  is  to  open  it  in  December  with  Shak- 
sperian  revival,  &  with  a  'star'  company.  They  say  he  has 
wealthy  backers.  Bateman  spent  his  profits  ...  &  left 
very  little  when  he  died. 

The  weather  is  changing  here  :  Fog  all  day  yesterday  —  & 
colder  breezes  today.  It  is  still  pleasant  for  walking,  however, 
and  I  don't  give  up  my  prowlings  into  the  byways  &  highways 
for  a  little  thing  like  fog  or  cold.  .  ,  . 

I  told  you,  I  believe,  that  I  called  on  Wilkie  Collins,  but 
the  interview  was  short  though  pleasant.  He  is  not  in  town  for 
'good'  yet,  &  when  he  returns  we  are  to  dine  &  have  a  long 
chat.     There  was  just  a  hint  that  we  might  do  a  play  together." 

"Adelphi  Terrace,  Monday,  Oct.  21,  '78. 

The  London  fogs  are  on  their  way.  We  have  had  two  days 
of  them  since  I  wrote  you  —  and  queer  sorts  of  days  they  were : 

the   streets   and   houses   filled   with   a   smoky   kind   of  mist 

through  which  once  in  a  while  (say  for  two  or  three  minutes  — 
two  or  three  times  a  day)  the  sun  broke,  and  when  it  did  sent 
down  a  drizzle  of  rain.  There  is  no  doubt  about  the  depress- 
ing effect  of  fog,  and  London  fog  especially ;  and  yet  they  say 
I  haven't  seen  the  choicest  quality  of  that  article  yet;  I  be- 
lieve they  set  in  about  November,  —  come  in  with  Guy  Fawkes 
and  the  Lord  Mayor's  Day ! 

Had  I  seen  Stoepel  when  I  wrote  you  last  ?  I  expect  to 
meet  several  of  the  London  authors  with  him  during  the  present 


28o  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

week,  and  Irving  especially  when  he  comes  to  town.  Stoepel 
took  me  Saturday  night  to  see  Coleman,  the  manager  of  the 
Olympic  (who  represents  Lord  Londesborough,  the  real  lessee), 
and  I  was  received  most  warmly  and  taken  back  on  the  stage 
to  meet  Neville,  the  stage  manager  &  star  of  the  theatre.  My 
reception  was  extremely  cordial,  &  I  spent  an  hour  with  Neville 
in  his  room  —  which  is  most  charmingly  fitted  up.  We  talked 
of  both  countries.  .  .  .  He  is  to  take  me  to  the  great  Gar- 
rick  Club,  the  club  founded  by  Garrick,  &  the  favorite  of  Dickens 
&  Thackeray.  Neville  acted  very  well  on  Saturday.  .  .  .  He 
will  scarcely  make  a  furor  with  us  however  in  such  parts  as  the 
cripple  in  The  Two  Orphans.  He  is  more  than  an  actor,  though, 
he  is  a  most  excellent  artist,  &  several  of  his  water-color  sketches 
adorn  his  walls.  The  theatre  was  crowded ;  but  crowded 
theatres  here  don't  mean  what  they  do  with  us  —  for  the  cir- 
cles are  shallow,  &  there  is  so  much  pit  &  gallery  in  all  of  them ; 
here  for  instance  was  a  theatre  quite  as  large  as  the  Union 
Square,  &  though  full  Saturday  I  was  told  it  footed  up  only 
£130,  not  $700  —  Drury  Lane  I  believe  holds  but  £400  — 
(not  $2000). 

Yesterday  I  took  one  of  my  longest  walks  .  .  .  Stoepel  and 
I  footed  it  together;  we  went  out  to  Hampstead  Heath  —  the 
old  footpad  ground,  you  know,  a  lovely  country  of  hill  and 
dale,  quite  as  dangerous  now  I  should  think  as  ever  it  was  by 
night,  for  there  are  long  stretches  of  pathway  on  the  hilltop  & 
the  hillside  unlighted  by  a  single  glimmer,  and  in  fog  and  dark- 
ness the  road  agents  ought  to  have  an  easy  shop  there.  We 
came  across  a  gentleman  accompanied  by  two  link  boys  with 
lighted  torches  to  guide  him  through  the  mist  &  the  night  — 
for  seven  o'clock  found  us  just  on  our  turn  homwards,  taking  the 
road  through  Highgate  —  where  we  passed  Whittington's  stone. 

I  saw  a  charming  entertainment  here  on  Saturday;  it  is 
given  by  five  or  six  people  in  a  little  hall  —  and  is  called  Mr.  & 
Mrs.  German  Reed's  At  Home.  Two  plays  are  performed, 
and  between  them  a  monologue  by  a  gentleman  named  Air. 
Corney  Grain  —  who  also  takes  the  principal  parts  in  the  main 
piece   of   the   programme.     The   performance   is    comedy    and 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  281 

music  mixed.  The  dialogue  charming  (it  is  principally  by  Bur- 
nand,  who  wrote  Happy  Thoughts)  and  the  songs  and  duets  very 
catchy.  The  chief  art  &  the  chief  charm  is  in  the  ability  of 
the  actors  to  play  two  or  more  parts  in  the  same  piece ;  thus  in 
the  opening  play,  which  is  called  'Doubleday's  Will',  there 
are  seven  characters  and  only  four  actors.  Grain  is  the  best 
of  the  lot.  He'd  be  a  furor  in  New  York.  He  is  handsome, 
easy  &  has  a  splendid  voice.  He  plays  an  old  man  or  a  young 
one  with  equal  ease  &  totally  distinct.  He  would  be  worth 
his  weight  in  gold  if  I  got  the  little  theatre  back  again." 

"  10  Adelphi  Terrace,  Sunday,  Oct.  22,  '78. 

Your  news  of  the  New  York  Theatres  is  certainly  not  ex- 
hilarating. Business  is  considered  bad  here,  but  then  expenses 
vary  here  from  £45  to  £75  per  night  for  the  regular  season, 
so  that  a  $400  house  leaves  a  profit.  Drury  Lane  is  less  prof- 
itable. It  is  the  Booth's  Theatre  of  London ;  only  big  things 
will  go  there.  The  Haymarket  is  another  fine  property  — 
but  it  is  mismanaged.  Besides,  they  take  about  a  lifetime  to 
prepare  a  new  piece  here.  'Fourchambault,'  which  was  to  have 
been  ready  a  week  ago,  will  not  be  finished  till  this  day  week. 

There  is  no  one  thing  being  done  here  which  would  make 
any  impression  in  N.  Y.  The  operetta  of  Pinafore  is  not  big 
enough  for  an  all  night  programme,  &  that  is  the  only  piece 
that  would  make  a  go.  I  think  it  would  be  a  greater  success 
than  Evangeline. 

I  believe  thoroughly  in  the  comedy  vaudeville  style  of  en- 
tertainment; occasionally  varied  with  the  old  comedy  or  the 
modern  emotional  pieces  such  as  the  Gaiety  Theatre,  the  Hay- 
market,  or  even  the  vaudeville  give  here.  But  above  all  the 
theatre  ought  to  be  a  little  gem  of  a  place.  Not  an  inch  larger 
than  the  old  5th  Ave.,  &  even  ten  feet  ought  to  be  spared  from 
the  auditorium  of  that  for  an  elegant  drawing-room  sort  of  lobby. 
Some  of  the  vestibules  of  the  theatres  here  are  parlors.  Nothing 
that  I  ever  did  equalled  them  —  so  you  see  luxury  pays.  For 
these  luxurious  places  are  the  ones  which  are  crowded  nightly." 


282  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"  Adelphi  Terrace,  London,  Oct.  29th. 

I  am  led  to  expect  (through  Stoepel)  a  willing  and  certainly 
a  valuable  coUaborateur  in  Wills,  who  wrote  Olivia,  Charles 
1st,  Jane  Shore,  &c.  —  &  to  him  I  shall  suggest  Yorick,  as  ex- 
actly suited  to  Irving,  with  whom  Wills  is  on  intimate  terms. 
Wills  however  is  yet  in  Paris  —  on  his  holiday. 

There  is  this  one  golden  thing  to  say  of  the  English  public 
which  goes  to  theatres :  It  may  take  a  long  time  to  make  your 
way  to  their  liking,  but  once  get  it  &  it  never  deserts  you  — 
not  even  in  old  age. 

Sometimes  I  think  it  would  pay  in  the  end  to  make  up  my 
mind  to  risk  a  year  of  waiting  &  watching  for  my  chance  here, 
for  I  feel  if  I  once  get  it  I  will  get  a  hold  soon  after. 

I  have  made  one  or  two  visits  to  the  Courts  (The  Criminal 
Courts)  this  week ;  and  saw  three  trials  at  Old  Bailey  &  two  at 
Westminster  Police  Court.  At  the  Old  Bailey  I  saw  Lord  Jus- 
tice Brett  try  two  serious  causes,  and  in  the  new  Court  saw 
Mr.  Justice  Hawkins  try  a  sort  of  robbery  case  —  in  which  the 
defence  was  conspiracy.  All  the  Court  rooms  were  about  the 
size  of  your  'Chambers'  —  and  nothing  like  so  ornamental. 
A  long  close  railing  on  one  side  running  the  whole  length  of  the 
wall  marks  the  Judges'  platform,  with  a  long  cushioned  bench 
behind  it  on  which  they  sit.  On  this  platform  are  six  or  eight 
small  desks ;  behind  each  desk  is  a  cushion  to  protect  the  ju- 
dicial back  from  the  cold  wall.  The  prisoners'  box  faces  the 
judges'  stand  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  room  —  the  jury  is 
on  the  right  of  the  judges  in  a  box;  &  the  reporters  &  special 
visitors  on  the  left,  also  in  a  box.  There  is  a  gallery  over  the 
prisoners'  box  for  the  public  at  large.  In  the  court  where  Lord 
Brett  presided  the  sword  of  justice  is  fixed  in  an  upright  position 
against  the  wall ;  and  on  the  bench  in  front  of  it  one  of  the 
sheriffs  of  the  City  always  sits  in  robes  &  gold  chain  —  with 
full  court  suit  underneath  ;  but  no  wig.  The  judges  of  course 
are  wigged  —  but  they  do  not  always  remember  their  dignity, 
for  I  saw  the  Lord  Justice  tip  his  wig  over  his  eye  as  he  scratched 
the  back  of  one  ear  with  his  pen.     The  trials  proceed  much 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  283 

the  same  as  with  us  —  only  I  heard  more  noisy  wrangling  be- 
tween counsel,  which  was  unheeded  by  the  judge,  than  in  our 
own  Courts.  Douglas  Straight,  Digby  Seymour  and  Mon- 
tague Williams  were  three  of  the  ablest  barristers  whom  I 
heard.  The  first  is  as  pure  a  light  comedian  as  ever  walked  the 
stage.  He  was  engaged  in  defence  of  a  boy  of  17  or  18  who 
was  on  trial  for  the  murder  of  a  sweep.  The  sweep  was  proven 
to  have  been  a  stalwart,  drunken  quarrelsome  fellow  &  to  have 
attacked  the  lad  first ;  the  main  point  of  the  defence  was  to 
ask  the  jury  to  decide  whether  they  thought  from  the  evidence 
that  the  death  of  the  sweep  was  caused  by  a  fall  or  a  blow. 
Straight  trod  very  dangerous  ground  certainly  when  he  rattled 
off'  his  argument  in  light  terms ;  but  he  succeeded  certainly  in 
getting  his  suggestions  endorsed  by  the  judge  in  his  charge  to 
the  jury  —  &  the  boy  was  acquitted.  One  charming  feature  of 
the  judiciary  here  —  so  far  as  I  have  been  witness  —  is  the 
most  thorough  review  of  the  law  first,  the  case  next,  the  evidence 
next  —  &  the  counsel's  argument  last;  and  the  juryman  who 
cannot  read  his  verdict  as  plain  as  A. B.C.  after  any  of  the 
charges  I  have  heard  so  far  is  a  'Hass  '  1" 

After  the  first  pleasant  visit  to  Pope's  Villa  came  an 
invitation  to  luncheon  there,  and  afterwards  at  Mrs. 
Wood's  : 

"Pope's  Villa,  Twickenham. 
My  dear  old  friend 

II  :  15  from  Waterloo  Station,  W.  Road  by  the  above  train, 
loop  line,  will  bring  you  to  your  Lost  Hostess  and  Peachblos- 
som  at  five  minutes  to  twelve.  A  fly,  price  one  shilling,  in  five 
minutes  will  land  you  at  this  blissful  abode.  Next  train  is 
after  one  —  too  late  for  lunch. 

Yours  muchly 
Matilda 

'Thalia.'" 


284  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"Oct  17, 

23  Gordon  Square,  W.  C. 
My  dear  Man 

I  have  arrived  in  town  for  the  season ;  will  you  come  to- 
morrow, Friday,  to  luncheon  at  half  past  one.  Mrs.  Labouchere 
will  be  here,  and  then  you  can  say  if  you  will  be  disengaged  for 
luncheon  on  Sunday  two  o'clock  with  Mrs.  Major  Rolls,  Helen 
Barry.  If  you  can't  come  tomorrow  send  me  word  so  I  can 
write  to  Helen,  and  come  to  me  in  the  evening. 

As  ever  yours 
Matilda 

'Thalia.'" 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Authors'  fees  to  beginners  beggarly.  Dinner  with  Olive  Logan. 
The  Lord  Mayor's  show :  Guy  Fawkes'  Day.  Comments  upon 
American  theatrical  prospects.  Rumors  about  Daly  and  the 
Surrey  or  Sadler's  Wells  theatre  have  to  be  contradicted.  Charles 
Reade  contrasted  with  Wilkie  Collins.  Palgrave  Simpson. 
Authors  and  profits.  Cellar  life  in  London.  The  Italians  of 
Saffron  Hill  and  the  "Thieves'  Kitchen."  Ballad  concerts  and 
Sims  Reeves  (inaudible).  Santley  and  Mrs.  Sterling.  Wills, 
painter  and  playwright.  Thanksgiving  dinner.  English  cook's 
unfortunate  attempt  at  pumpkin  pie.  "Lemons"  accepted  by 
Wyndham  for  the  Criterion.  Robert  Emmet's  career  the  theme 
of  a  play  for  Irving.  A  haughty  playwright.  Cabbies.  Christ- 
mas not  merry  in  London  streets.  Hosts  of  unemployed.  Din- 
ner with  Mrs.  Wood.  A  Christmas  toast.  Boxing  Day.  New 
pantomimes.  An  English  audience.  Drury  Lane.  How  "Pina- 
fore" was  brought  to  New  York.  The  New  Year  in  London. 
Agnes  Ethel.  An  opening  in  London.  Supper  at  the  Green  Room 
Club  with  Henry  Irving  in  the  chair.  His  courtesy.  Gooch  of 
the  Princess.  Trip  to  Paris  with  Stoepel.  The  Channel  passage. 
"Revue"  at  the  Eldorado  cafe.  "L'Assommoir."  Masked  ball 
at  Frascati's.  Helene  Stoepel.  A  visit  to  Rome.  Story  to  read 
a  comedy.  Back  in  London.  Unexpected  failure  of  Chatterton 
at  Drury  Lane.  Disappointment.  Daly  turns  his  thoughts 
homeward.  Proposal  to  Henry  Irving  for  a  visit  to  America  with 
Miss  Ellen  Terry.  About  five  years  too  soon.  Irving  dares  too 
much  in  Claude  Melnotte.     Sale  of  the  first  Daly  library. 

"  November  4th. 

10  Adelphi  Terrace,  Strand,  W.C. 

Until  you  make  your  way  here  the  prices  paid  authors  is 
beggarly.  40/- or  $10  is  I  believe  considered  handsome  re- 
muneration. I  will  not  be  able  to  ride  in  a  gilded  coach  on 
any  such  royalty  as  that !  However,  no  one  ever  grows  rich 
or   great   suddenly   in    this   country :     everything   reaches    its 

28s 


286  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

height  by  natural  steps,  and  by  doing  so  finds  a  firmer  position 
has  been  secured  in  the  end. 

I  was  introduced  to  Captain  Shaw  the  Chief  of  the  Scotland 
Yard  force  one  day,  and  I  expect  to  make  a  visit  with  him  some 
evening  to  the  cellar  haunts  of  the  Great  City.  This  Shaw  is 
the  'Inspector  Shaw'  with  whom  Dickens  used  to  make  his 
rounds.  I  am  surprising  the  oldest  Londoners  in  fact  by  the 
thoroughness  or  rather  the  extensiveness  of  my  investigations 
here." 

"  Sunday,  Nov.  lo,  '78. 

10  Adelphi  Terrace,  Strand,  W.  C. 

I  met  Olive  Logan  a  few  days  since  &  we  have  had  a  dinner 
or  two  together  combined  with  several  chats.  She  thinks  I  am 
getting  on  faster  than  any  American  ever  did  before  —  even 
to  have  been  received  by  the  managers,  and  talked  with 
them.  .  .  . 

Yesterday  being  Lord  Mayor's  Day  &  the  Prince  of  Wales' 
birthday  was  big  with  festivities  indoors  &  out.  The  proces- 
sion of  all  the  old  Lord  Mayors,  &  the  new  one,  was  a  mild  af- 
fair, but  the  streets  were  jammed  with  people  to  see  it.  The 
banners  of  the  various  guilds,  and  the  very  theatrical -looking 
cinderella-like  gold  coach  in  which  the  new  Lord  Mayor  rode 
were  the  only  'pretty'  things  in  the  show.  I  invited  Mrs. 
Wood  &  her  daughter,  ...  a  clever  and  pretty  child,  and  La- 
bouchere  &  his  wife  &  Stoepel  to  see  the  sight  from  my  window, 
which  is  one  of  the  best  in  London  to  see  such  things  from. 
We  had  a  very  jolly  afternoon ;  Stoepel  played  lots  of  music ; 
little  Florence  &  Mrs.  Labouchere  made  up  &  performed  im- 
promptu charades,  &  it  was  almost  dark  when  they  went 
away.  In  the  evening  I  sauntered  through  the  streets,  which 
were  brilliantly  illuminated  with  all  sorts  of  designs  in  gas  work 
—  and  mingled  with  a  thoroughly  English  crowd  for  some 
hours.  Such  Fun!  Along  Regent  St.  &  the  Haymarket  the 
crowds  were  densest;  at  every  dozen  steps  urchins  were  selling 
at  a  penny  each  an  article  they  called  'Ladies'  Tormentors': 
a  small  zinc  tube  filled  with  water  which  spurted  at  a  pressure 


THE  LIFE  OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  287 

of  the  finger  from  a  small  hole  in  the  top !  Such  Fun  !  These 
were  bought  by  the  hundred  by  the  bands  of  fast  young 
fellows  who  howled  &  hounded  the  unfortunates  of  the  other 
sex  along  the  sidewalks  —  squirting  the  fluid  from  these  tor- 
mentors into  their  ears  or  eyes  or  down  their  necks.  Such  Fun  ! 
Then  if  this  liberty  was  resented  by  any  of  the  women  or  their 
companions  they  were  surrounded  by  the  band,  tusselled, 
hugged,  and  jeered  at  to  the  amusement  of  fifty  or  a  hundred 
more  who  immediately  gathered  round.  Such  Fun !  Many 
a  poor  girl  whom  honest  work  or  necessitous  duty  forced 
into  the  streets,  I  saw  run  screaming  across  the  streets 
from  an  attack,  to  the  amusement  of  the  mob.  Such  Fun  ! 
From  nine  till  twelve  these  scenes  went  on,  and  I  don't 
know  how  much  longer,  —  but  I  retired  from  the  mob  at 
midnight  quite  satisfied  that  none  of  us  know  at  home  what  a 
mob  really  is. 

The  worst  'boy'  in  London,  I  should  judge,  after  my  ex- 
periences in  the  streets  &  in  the  Courts  so  far,  is  the  idle  hulking 
brute  of  forty,  who,  after  enjoying  a  malignity  of  pleasure  which 
nothing  but  his  debased  nature  and  his  years  combined  could 
invent  —  comes  into  court  and  says  'It  was  only  for  a  bit  of  a 
lark,  yer  know,  yer  honor  ! '  So  far  I  have  been  entirely  charmed 
with  the  judicial  treatment  of  criminals  here.  Mercy  never 
seemed  so  just,  nor  justice  so  penetrating  as  in  the  temperate 
decisions  which  I  have  heard  from  the  London  judges  in  the 
Police  Courts  and  at  Old  Bailey.  But  mercy  does  seem  mis- 
placed when  it  lets  a  devil  off  with  a  5/-  fine  who  'out  of 
a  lark'  might  have  set  fire  to  dwellings  &  destroyed  life.  The 
'Guys'  of  the  day-time  were  very  amusing.  Mostly  they 
were  stuffed  figures  with  faces  representing  either  the  Pope  or 
Shere  AH,  or  Guy  himself  —  &  were  escorted  round  the  streets 
by  bands  of  little  boys,  who  beat  drums,  sang  a  verse  to  at- 
tract attention,  &  then  went  round  to  collect  pennies  for  their 
show.  In  the  evening  they  make  a  bonfire  of  their  guys  & 
of  all  stray  barrels  or  boards  they  can  seize.  In  one  instance 
the  crowd  of  urchins,  too  poor  to  stuflt  a  figure,  had  persuaded 
one  of  their  own  number  to  be  their  guy,  &  they  had  smeared 


288  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

his  face  &  put  a  paper  hat  on  his  head,  mounted  him  on  a  chair 
&  paraded  him  through  their  quarter,  which  was  up  Seven  Dials 
way." 

"Monday,  Nov.  ii,  '78.   10  Adelphi  Terrace, 

Strand,  W.C. 

Your  news  of  the  hard  season  rather  sets  me  up  in  my  own 
conceit  of  judgment  as  to  how  things  were  going  to  turn  out  in 
theatricals  this  year. 

Had  I  felt  any  great  confidence  I  should  never  have  given  up 
the  Broadway.  But  I  am  sure  no  money  can  be  made,  &  no 
improvement  will  be  noticeable  in  the  American  theatres  till 
after  January  ist. 

I  believe  that  devilish  rumor  about  the  Surrey  or  Sadlers 
Wells  which  was  originated  in  New  York  has  shut  me  out  of 
the  confidence  of  some  of  the  managers  here.  I  could  not  ac- 
count for  some  peculiarities  I  met  with  in  one  or  two  quar- 
ters until  within  this  day  or  two  I  learned  that  the  rumor  had 
been  extensively  copied  in  England  &  was  generally  believed ; 
principally  because  Mrs.  Bateman  has  not  been  in  London 
for  a  month  or  six  weeks  &  no  denial  was  given. 

I  have  written  tonight  to  the  Era,  &  by  Saturday  I  shall 
have  the  thing  exploded  in  the  clubs  &  theaters. 

The  scoundrels  did  not  do  me  harm  enough  with  their  lies 
when  I  was  at  home,  but  must  follow  me  here.  For  of  course 
my  design  was  to  become  acquainted  &  make  friends  with  all 
the  managers  here  —  &  if  they  supposed  I  was  about  to  enter 
the  field  in  rivalry  they  would  none  of  them  be  nice  to  me.  .  .  . 

I  met  Charles  Reade  at  the  theatre  one  night  last  week. 
I  attended  with  Mrs.  Wood  &  we  called  on  him  in  his  box  be- 
tween the  acts.  The  play  was  very  trashy  and  he  was  very 
soreheaded  &  so  he  was  not  cordial.  I  think  too  he  must  have 
been  chafing  just  then  under  the  lash  of  that  letter  wh.  you 
send  me  from  the  Post.  At  any  rate  I  consider  him  a  very 
surly  old  gentleman,  or  perhaps  if  I  call  him  an  old  maid  it 
will  be  more  like,  for  he  left  the  box  for  home  shortly  after  I 
entered,  on  the  plea  that  he  wanted  his  cup  of  tea,  &  was  going 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  289 

home  for  it.  .  .  .     His  bearing  was  decidedly  a  contrast  to  dear 
gentle  Wilkie  Collins'." 

"  Friday,  Nov.  22,  '78. 

10  Adelphi  Terrace,  Strand,  W.C. 

Truly  did  you  prophecy,  my  dear  brother,  when  you  said  that 
'Good  luck  would  come  as  cometh  the  brick  pile  on  the  head 
of  him  that  passeth  by.' 

There  is  just  a  chance  also  that  not  one  brick  alone  —  but 
many  —  may  fall.  I  had  a  call  from  Wyndham  yesterday  even- 
ing on  the  subject  of  Divorce.  His  offer  is  not  a  very  good  one, 
but  still  it  may  lead  to  better.  I  had  a  very  cosy  chat  with 
Palgrave  Simpson  on  Tuesday  last,  when  I  called  on  him  at 
Kensington.  He  wrote  'Second  Love,'  you  may  remember,  a 
charming  comedy  acted  some  years  ago  by  Laura  Keene,  and 
was  part  author  of  'AH  for  Her'  —  which  Wallack  played. 
He  is  71  years  old  and  looks  no  more  than  fifty.  From  him  I 
learn  that  Byron  only  gets  £3  a  night  for  'Our  Boys'  —  and 
that  £4  a  night  is  looked  upon  as  big  pay.  Andrew  Halliday 
who  wrote  Amy  Robsart  &  lots  of  successes  for  Drury  Lane 
only  got  the  pay  I'm  to  receive.  The  profit  here  is  in  the  long 
runs  you  get  out  of  your  plays  —  and  the  number  of  plays  you 
may  have  running  at  once.  Besides,  a  failure  of  one  play  doesn't 
kill  an  author  here ;  the  people  give  him  trial  after  trial  in  the 
most  generous  expectation  that  he  may  redeem  himself.  To 
return  to  Wyndham :  .  .  .  He  offers  £2  per  night  for  Di- 
vorce and  we  are  hem,  hemming,  on  the  terms. 

Last  evening  I  had  a  most  interesting  exploration  of  the 
cellar  life  of  London  with  Inspector  Howe  from  Scotland  Yard. 
I  went  among  the  Italians  in  Saffron  Hill  and  Leather  Lane 
and  among  the  small  thieves'  lodgings  in  Fulford's  Rents.  The 
former  were  the  most  miserable  and  the  most  filthy ;  crowded 
&  foul ;  a  colony  of  organ  grinders  and  penny  ice-cream  vendors  ; 
and  the  latter  the  oddest  &  most  dramatic.  The  thieves' 
kitchen  in  Fulford's  Rents  (a  narrow  cul-de-sac  leading  off  Oxford 
Street)  is  a  scene  fit  for  a  play  —  and  if  I  do  Flash  of  Lightning 
here  that  will  be  my  location  for  the  Jacob  Ladder  scene. 


290  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

The  night  before  I  went  to  St.  James  Hall  to  hear  one  of 
the  English  ballad  concerts  —  most  fashionably  attended  — 
and  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  Sims  Reeves ;  I  heard  Santley, 
Madame  Antoinetta  Sterling  (who  was  the  great  favorite  & 
success  of  the  evening)  Madame  Lemmens  Sherrington,  & 
other  favorites ;  but  we  could  do  very  little  more  than  see 
Sims  Reeves,  though  he  did  make  a  pretence  of  singing.  The 
pianist  played  'My  Pretty  Jane'  &  'Come  into  the  Carding, 
Maud,'  and  the  well-preserved  old  chap  moved  his  lips  in 
unison  with  the  notes  —  but  though  I  sat  on  the  fourth  row 
only,  my  ears  drank  in  no  sound  but  melodious  whispers." 

"Adelphi  Terrace,  Sunday,  Dec.  7. 

Since  I  wrote  you  last  I've  had  an  interview  with  Wills,  who 
wrote  Olivia  &  Charles  ist,  &  some  other  good  plays.  He  is 
painter  as  well  as  writer.  Equally  good  in  either  line.  I 
want  to  get  him  to  do  Yorick  with  me  for  Irving — &  he  is 
very  ready  I  think  to  do  it.  We  are  to  dine  (ist  step  in  all 
grades  of  English  diplomacy)  in  a  week  to  go  over  the  matter 
in  detail. 

Last  night  I  attended  the  first  night  of  Albery  &  Hatton's 
new  drama  at  the  Princess  Theatre.  It  is  called  'No.  20;  or 
the  Bastile  of  Calvados.'  It  is  an  absurd  piece.  There  was 
much  laughter  at  the  serious  points  and  none  whatever  at  the 
comic  speeches. 

Thursday  was  Thanksgiving  day  with  you,  wasn't  it? 
I  tried  to  get  up  a  little  one  here  with  the  help  of  Olive  Logan, 
Stoepel  &  one  or  two  others,  but  as  I  had  laid  great  stress  on 
the  'Punkin'  Pie  of  the  feast,  &  the  cook  hadn't  quite  got  all 
the  points  of  that  dish,  I  had  my  pumpkin  served  up  in  chunks, 
stewed  in  a  meat-pie  pan  without  eggs  or  sweetening  —  and 
my  feast  was  a  failure.     We  drank  to  you  all  at  home.  .  .  ." 

"  Sunday,  Dec.  8,  '78. 

10  Adelphi  Terrace,  Strand,  W.C. 

'Lemons'  after  all  will  be  my  opening  play  here.  It  is 
to  be  produced  on  the  28th  of  December  —  at  the  Criterion 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  291 

Theatre;  where  'The  Pink  Dominos'  is  now  running  and 
Hearing  its  530th  performance;  where  ' Proces  Feauradieux' 
was  played  nearly  200  times,  and  where  'Saratoga'  had  a  long 
run  under  the  title  of  'Brighton.'  Wyndham  is  the  manager 
&  he  is  to  play  Jack  Penryn.  The  piece  goes  into  rehearsal 
Wednesday;  I  have  been  busy  the  last  four  days  going  over  it 
to  take  out  certain  Americanisms  &  make  some  alterations 
(slight)  which  Wyndham  suggested.  Wyndham  first  offered 
£200  for  it  outright;  but  I  have  got  him  to  allow  me  £i  a 
night  every  time  it  is  played  in  or  out  of  London.  In  the  long 
run  —  if  the  piece  has  any  success  at  all  —  this  will  be  most 
satisfactory.  Perhaps  the  purity  of  the  play  may  be  its  greatest 
drawback  —  for  its  predecessors  have  been  all  'off  color.' 
And  then  again  in  the  present  outcry  here  about  the  immoral 
French  drama,  &  the  Lord  Chancello'rs  refusal  to  grant  licenses, 
&  also  out  of  its  simple  contrast  to  the  looser  plays,  '  Lemons ' 
may  strike  popular  fancy." 

"Monday,  Deer.   16. 

At  last  I  have  had  a  taste  of  'London  Fog'  —  and  such  a 
fog !  The  air  seems  filled  with  a  thick  immovable  mass  like 
the  smoke  of  a  locomotive.  You  can  but  dimly  see  the  houses 
across  the  street,  and  nothing  a  square  away  is  visible  — 
scarcely  even  the  gas  lamps,  which  have  been  lighted  ever 
since  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  vapor  was  so  dense  at 
noon  that  it  seemed  almost  like  a  rainfall.  The  house  seemed 
unendurable  —  and  when  I  went  into  the  streets  they  were 
scarcely  navigable.  The  cabbies  lit  their  lamps,  street  vendors 
produced  their  blazing  torches,  many  passengers  carried  lan- 
terns &  the  sight  altogether  was  truly  novel.  It  will  seem  as 
though  we  had  a  night  thirty-six  hours  long. 

Yesterday  I  was  taken  by  Mrs.  Wood  for  a  call  on  Frank 
Marshall.  I  had  a  very  pleasant  afternoon.  .  .  .  He  spoke 
of  collaboration,  and  by  and  by  we  may  work  together.  He 
seems  to  be  an  eccentric  party  however  —  a  moth  collector  in 
his  odd  moments,  and  dramatist  by  fits  &  starts.  He  is  at 
work  now  on  a  play  for  Irving  —  on  the  subject  of  Robert 


292  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Emmet;  but  managers  &  authors  both  are  queer  fish  in  this 
country.  The  Criterion  for  instance  is  a  specimen.  They 
have  played  Pink  Dominos  for  560  nights;  and  when  it  comes 
time  to  change  ...  no  play  ready.  Henderson  wanted  to 
try  'Lemons,'  &  I  rehearsed  it  two  days  —  then  found  it  was 
badly  cast,  &  would  be  a  certain  failure  —  so  I  withdrew  it 
(without  any  quarrel  of  course !)  and  this  has  funked  them,  so 
they  close  the  theatre  on  Saturday  night." 

"  Christmas  Eve. 

I  move  today  or  tomorrow  from  this  delightful  but  rather 
too  expensive  place  —  to  No.  9  Vere  Street,  near  Oxford  &  near 
Cavendish  Square.  Round  the  corner  in  Holies  Street  is  the 
house  in  which  Byron  was  born  —  &  only  a  little  way  off  is 
Wilkie  Collins'  house  &  Trollope's.  I  think  the  place  is  more 
home-like  &  is  to  cost  me  3I  guineas  a  week  —  i.e.  about  $17.50 
for  lodging,  food,  fire  &  light. 

Sunday  I  had  Wills  the  dramatist  to  dine  with  me  off  a  pair 
of  my  oysters  &  a  few  dozen  of  duck.  The  party  included 
Stoepel  &  Olive  Logan  &  was  much  fun.  Willis  retaliates  & 
invites  me  to  dine  with  him  at  the  Garrick  next  week." 

"Christmas,  1878.     London. 

I  was  introduced  to  Gilbert  ...  at  Drury  Lane  last  night 
during  the  Pantomime  rehearsal.  .  .  .  He  is  undoubtedly  the 
super-strained  essence  of  conceit  now  going  upon  stilts.  However, 
I  can  spare  his  acquaintance.  I  believe  he  contemplates  a  visit 
to  N.Y.  in  March  if  his  'Gretchen'  is  a  success  here.  .  .  . 

I  could  not  get  a  cab  to  take  me  to  Chatterton's  house 
(some  3  miles  off)  today  where  I  was  to  dine  —  for  it  was  slip- 
pery &  snowy  &  they  would  not  go  any  great  distance.  You 
have  no  idea  in  fact  of  the  sauciness  &  independence  of  the  cab- 
men here  on  the  least  show  of  bad  weather,  of  fog,  or  at  night. 
They  won't  stop  for  you  or  come  at  your  call  unless  your  ap- 
pearance suits  them  —  &  when  one  reads  column  after  column 
in  the  papers  here  of  the  starving  thousands  patrolling  the  streets 
of  the  interior  towns,  when  40,000  paupers  are  fed  daily  at  the 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  293 

almshouses  &  50,000  more  at  the  soup  kitchens,  I  gaze  in  speech- 
less wonder  at  the  indifference  of  the  London  hansom  drivers 
to  a  50  cent  fare. 

No  one  would  know  England  as  the  home  of  King  Xmas  if 
he  judged  it  from  the  sights  of  London.  I  fear  indeed  that  the 
day  as  a  day  of  jubilee  is  a  myth  of  the  story  tellers  &  the  pic- 
ture papers.  At  least  the  London  streets  were  never  so  de- 
serted even  on  Sunday  as  they  are  this  day.  Occasionally  a 
few  cracked  voices  droning  out  a  Christmas  carol  &  sounding 
through  the  otherwise  empty  roads  recalled  the  waits  of  which 
I've  read  —  and  a  little  band  of  urchins  tooting  broken  horns 
made  the  morning  noisy  —  but  it  was  far  from  a  lively  noise 
in  either  case.  Not  a  shop  is  opened  —  not  a  shutter  down. 
Many  of  the  theatres  have  been  closed  since  Saturday  last. 
All  of  them  are  shut  today  &  tonight.  Not  even  a  concert  is 
given.  In  fact  if  Christmas  is  kept  in  London  at  all  it  is  kept 
with  bolted  doors,     I  have  walked  through  a  hundred  streets 

—  this  night  —  and  not  a  sound  of  laughter  could  I  hear  through 
the  tight-shut  shutters  —  so  if  it  is  kept  jollily  it  must  be  in 
jolly  little  whispers.  I  suppose  the  festival  is  best  known  as  a 
festival  in  country  parts  —  but  sad  country  parts  are  they  this 
Christmas  ;  where  hunger  and  misery  make  anything  but  lively 
figures  for  a  Sir  Roger  de  Coverly  —  and  gaunt  starvation  would 
rather  gnaw  the  berries  of  the  mistletoe  than  waste  the  bush 
for  arboring  Christmas  lovers.     They  tell  me  —  those  who  know 

—  and  the  papers  are  full  of  the  story  too,  that  England  has 
not  known  such  distress  for  forty  years.  The  Yokes  tell  me 
they  were  playing  in  Bolton  recently  &  the  gangs  of  unemployed 
men  &  women  who  prowled  the  streets  were  becoming  a  terror. 
No  carriage  escaped  pelting,  and  people  who  could  afford  it 
were  even  afraid  to  ride  in  a  hired  hack. 

I  spent  a  couple  of  hours  with  Mrs.  Wood,  &  had  a  taste  of 
her  plum  pudding;  &  then  made  a  call  on  Stoepel ;  &  the  rest 
of  my  Xmas  I  have  spent  here.  The  theatres  do  not  re-open 
till  tomorrow  evening  (Boxing  Day).  Last  night  I  made 
myself  a  little  eggnogg  and  drank  poor  old  Uncle's  toast  to  the 
absent  hearts.  " 


294  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"  9  Vere  Street. 

Sunday,  Dec.  29,  '78. 

For  the  past  three  evenings  I  have  been  renewing  my  'child- 
ish' days  —  and  going  to  the  pantomime,  at  Drury  Lane, 
Covent  Garden  and  the  Alhambra  —  but  by  all  odds  the  most 
magnificent  and  novel  was  at  Covent  Garden.  It  is  as  inter- 
esting and  much  more  novel  than  anything  seen  in  Humpty 
Dumpty  —  always  excepting  Fox  !  Alas  !  they  have  no  such 
man  here;  their  very  cleverest  man  is  only  a  sort  of  circus 
clown  who  prides  himself  much  more  on  his  ability  to  do 
'stunts'  than  on  his  comic  powers. 

I  told  you  how  dull  on  the  outside  Christmas  Day  was  here ! 
But  I  ought  to  say  lest  I  forget  it  that  the  day  after  Christmas, 
which  is  called  Boxing  Day,  London  (at  least)  uncovers  itself. 
The  shops  are  still  closed,  but  the  streets  are  full  again  ;  matinees 
are  given  at  most  of  the  theatres ;  &  in  the  evening  all  the  new 
pantomimes  burst  forth  upon  jammed  houses.  The  weather, 
which  had  been  cold  &  snowy,  began  to  thaw  that  day  —  &  has 
kept  on,  till  today  'tis  as  mild  as  one  of  our  early  spring  morn- 
ings. So  nothing  kept  the  people  home  Boxing  Night  —  and 
it  was  a  spectacle  of  itself  to  see  the  masses  of  humanity  that 
poured  into  every  place  of  amusement  in  London  on  that  oc- 
casion. At  'the  Lane'  (as  they  call  'Old  Drury'  here)  every 
tier  was  like  an  over-yeasted  dough  overflowing  its  pan  on  every 
side.  Whenever  the  orchestra  struck  up  a  familiar  music-hall 
air  the  boys  took  it  up  &  yelled  out  the  chorus  ;  while  the  boxes, 
crowded  with  such  sights  of  pretty  children,  took  everything  in, 
both  off  the  stage  &  on  it,  with  the  most  intently  serious  vis- 
ages, and  the  old  folks  furnished  all  the  broad  grins  of  the  even- 
ing." 

The  sudden  departure  of  Mr.  James  Duff  in  the  early 
part  of  December  for  home,  and  his  reticence  concerning 
the  reason  for  it,  were  caused  by  a  momentous  project 
which  he  disclosed  to  no  one  until  he  arrived  in  New  York 
and  broached  it  to  his  father.     This  was  nothing  less  than 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  295 

the  production  in  America  of  "H.M.S.  Pinafore,"  which 
was  accomplished  in  the  following  January  (1879)  at  the 
Standard  Theatre,  with  success.  The  names  of  Gilbert 
and  Sullivan  thereafter  became  household  words  on  the 
Western  Continent. 

"Jan.  2d.  '79. 

New  Year  day  is  no  festival  here.  I  tried  to  recall  our  New 
York  mode  of  keeping  it  by  making  some  calls.  ...  I  got  a 
letter  yesterday  from  Agnes  Ethel  asking  me  if  there  was  any 
opening  for  her  in  London.  Here's  .  .  .  one  discontented  with 
her  lot !  She  as  well  as  others  evidently  thinks  I  have  accom- 
plished something  even  to  have  the  ears  of  a  manager ;  but  you 
who  know  all  as  well  as  I  do  must  feel  that  his  ears  are  nothing 
without  his  heart." 

"  1879,  Thursday,  Jan.  16. 

104  Regent  St. 

I  attended  a  late  supper  at  the  'Green  Room  Club'  —  a 
sort  of  oif-shoot  of  the  Garrick  —  presided  over  by  a  live  Duke 
(who  sends  game  up  from  his  covers  for  the  table)  and  of  which 
all  the  nobby  actors  from  Irving  down  are  members.  I  told 
you,  I  believe,  they  elected  me  an  honorary  member  lately. 
Well,  last  evening  Irving  took  the  chair  in  the  absence  of  the 
Duke.  Suppers  begin  at  ii  :  30  p.m.  after  all  theatres  are  out, 
so  you  can  imagine  what  an  attendance  they  can  show.  Every- 
body in  the  theatre  world  &  many  of  the  literary,  of  the  day, 
were  on  hand.  Young  Charles  Dickens  (he's  40  years  old  now) 
and  Captain  Burton  the  great  African  explorer  were  on  Irving's 
right  &  left.  I  had  a  humble  seat  on  the  left,  quite  near  the 
foot ;  but  I  remembered  the  biblical  consolation  of  how  the 
last  shall  be  first ;  &  as  soon  as  the  tables  were  cleared  and  the 
liveliness  of  the  night  began  Irving  sent  a  messenger  to  me  to 
ask  me  to  occupy  a  seat  beside  him  ;  introduced  himself  when  I 
came  near;  and  with  Dickens  on  his  R  and  me  on  his  left  the 
rest  of  the  evening  was  spent.  He  is  very  charming  and  gave 
a  couple  of  recitations  in  exquisite  table  style.  By  that  I 
mean  they  were   untheatrical  —  which  so  many  of  these  after- 


296  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

supper  declamations  are  not  apt  to  be.  He  took  my  address 
&  is  to  make  a  call  &  have  me  come  &  see  him.  We  parted 
at  4:30  this  morning. 

Seated  beside  me  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  evening  was  Gooch 
the  manager  of  the  Princess'  Theatre;  who  told  me  that  some 
scoundrel  here  had  offered  him  a  play  wh.  he  had  read  &  in 
which  he  saw  evidences  of  a  crib  from  Pique ;  he  had  told  the 
party  that  if  it  was  so  he  would  prefer  to  do  my  piece  —  and 
in  the  course  of  our  talk  he  gave  me  evidence  of  this  piece  being 
absolutely  a  stolen  copy  of  my  drama.  He  therefore  asked  me 
to  send  him  my  play,  &  I  think  it  is  most  likely  I  will  be  able 
to  do  some  business  with  him  about  it." 

"  Paris,  Maison  Bonfoy,  Boulevard  Montmartre, 

Jan.  24,  '79. 

Here  I  am  in  the  city  of  cities  —  after  the  beastliest  journey 
I  ever  made.  I  left  London  before  the  sun  was  up  this  morn- 
ing and  reached  Paris  at  seven  this  evening;  and  two  hours 
of  this  time  were  passed  on  the  Channel ;  but  such  a  two  hours  ! 
Nothing  that  has  been  written  of  that  'crossing'  gives  any 
idea  of  the  experience.  It  is  the  most  devilish  passage  in  the 
world  I  believe.  The  two  weeks  I  spent  crossing  the  Atlantic 
seemed  but  two  minutes  in  comparison.  .  .  .  You  will  never 
precisely  realize  what  sea  sickness  really  is,  my  dear  brother, 
until  you  take  the  trip  from  Dover  to  Calais. 

So  you  can  imagine  my  inward  'feelinks.'  The  sea  was 
high  and  I  was  drenched.  The  weather  was  arctic  and  I  was 
frozen.  Among  fifty  passengers  who  made  the  voyage  with 
me  but  two  retained  the  smiling  visage  of  the  beginning  to  the 
end.  They  were  a  couple  of  spry  young  lovers  with  cast  iron 
stomachs  and  feathery  consciences.  They  sat  in  safety  amid- 
ships ;  spooned  &  forgot  the  sea ;  were  happy  and  thought  the 
journey  all  too  short,  while  the  rest  of  us  .   .  . ! 

Stoepel  who  was  with  me  said  death  had  never  seemed  so 
sweet  or  so  preferable  to  him  before. 

At  length  we  landed.  The  earth  was  covered  with  snow  — 
but  never  was  it  so  welcome. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  297 

I  was  too  miserable  to  look  about  me  much  at  Calais;  but 
the  sight  of  my  first  gendarme  somehow  or  other  recalled  my 
youthful  spirits  —  for  I  thought  of  Robert  Macaire  and  Humor 
Hall  and  Bill  Sefton  and  you,  and  our  early  histrionics. 

This  hotel  .  .  .  is  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Boulevard,  only  a 
few  squares  from  all  the  theatres  &  the  Grand  Opera.  Dinner 
over  we  took  a  stroll  along  the  Boulevard  to  the  Rue  de  I'Opera 
where  the  electric  light  has  replaced  gas  —  and  passed  all  the 
theatres  of  the  City  now  open,  securing  seats  at  the  Ambigu 
for  tomorrow  to  see  'L'Assommoir.'  It  was  too  late  to  go  to 
any  play,  but  we  strolled  into  'L'Eldorado,'  one  of  the  famous 
cafe  chantants  —  where  I  saw  a  Revue:  so  clever,  though  in- 
describable, as  to  furnish  me  with  some  good  ideas  for  comic 
business  for  future  use.  It  is  an  immense  theatre  of  five  tiers, 
shaped  like  an  octagon  —  the  stage  being  one  of  the  eight 
sides.  No  admission  is  charged  —  but  the  refreshments  are 
priced  most  exorbitantly ;  we  paid  50  cents  for  a  cup  of  coffee." 

"Paris,  Boulevard  Montmartre,  Jan.  26,  '79. 

Yesterday  was  spent  in  sight  seeing;  today  in  play  seeing. 
Only  think  of  it  —  Sunday  is  the  great  matinee  day  in  Paris ; 
every  theatre  gives  one;  and  every  place  is  crowded.  I  saw 
'L'Assommoir'  at  the  Ambigu;  'Les  Enfantsdu  Capitaine  Grant' 
at  the  Porte  St.  Martin;  and  'Le  Grand  Cassimer'  at  the 
Varieties.  L'Assommoir  is  a  disgusting  piece :  One  prolonged 
sigh  from  first  to  last  over  the  miseries  of  the  poor;  with  a 
dialogue  culled  from  the  lowest  slang,  and  tritest  claptrap.  It 
gave  me  no  points  that  I  could  use;  &  the  only  novelty  was 
in  the  lavoir  scene  where  two  wash-women  (the  heroine  &  her 
rival)  throw  pails  full  of  warm  water  (actually)  over  each  other 
&  stand  dripping  before  the  audience.  The  play  at  the  Porte 
St.  Martin  is  very  good  but  very  long ;  it  lasted  five  hours.  I 
think  it  will  be  a  success  in  America  if  well  done  —  &  I  believe 
Tompkins  of  Boston  has  bought  it. 

Neither  the  acting  nor  the  scenery  so  far  has  enthused  me. 
I  think  we  have  some  quite  as  good  at  home.  .  .  . 


298  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

I  took  in  a  masked  ball  last  night  at  Frascati's  and  saw  the 
can-can  on  its  native  floor.  A  beastlier  exhibition  cannot  be 
shown  anywhere.  Argyle  Rooms  in  London  was  a  sort  of 
paradise  to  that  place. 

I  reserve  for  other  evenings  the  Fran9ais  and  the  Grand 
Opera  and  the  Gymnase.  Business  first  &  pleasure  after.  My 
first  visits  were  made  to  those  places  which  I  thought  might  be 
suggestive  for  the  work  in  hand  ;  now  I  shall  go  to  store  up  for 
my  future  management. 

Today  Stoepel  brought  Bijou  from  the  Convent  to  see  me. . . ." 

"Rome,  Hotel  Costauzi,  Jan.  31,  '79. 

Will  you  believe  your  eyes  when  you  see  the  postmark  on 
this  letter  ^  Will  you  believe  your  senses  when  you  open  it 
&  read  that  your  wandering  brother  is  in  the  Eternal  City  .'* 
After  two  pressing  invitations  from  our  old  friend  Agnes  Ethel 
(Tracy)  which  I  debated  long  as  to  accepting,  I  finally  suc- 
cumbed to  the  hearty  pressure  of  Mr.  Tracy  —  who  sent  me  the 
'round'  ticket  with  a  special  note  that  a  room  was  ready 
warmed  for  me  —  and  I  left  Paris  Monday,  &  after  44  hours  of 
most  interesting  travel  through  the  south  of  France,  by  the 
Alps  &  through  Turin,  Bologna  &  Florence  I  reached  Rome  on 
Wednesday.  In  all  my  life  I  never  received  so  hearty  a  wel- 
come ;  and  in  all  my  life  I  have  never  been  made  to  feel  so  en- 
tirely at  home  in  a  stranger's  house  as  these  two  kind  people 
have  made  me  here.  I  have  been  here  now  two  days  —  and 
they  have  been  unceasing  in  their  kindnesses.  They  have  al- 
most tired  themselves  out  in  showing  me  the  treasures  of  the 
City  —  &  I  believe  I  have  seen  more  of  this  famous  City  than 
any  one  else  ever  saw  before  in  two  months.  I  shall  not  begin 
tonight  to  write  you  of  its  wonders ;  nor  its  mysteries  —  I  am 
too  excited  to  begin  even  to  catalogue  them  all  —  but  I  shall 
tell  you  of  everything  hereafter.  I  have  tonight  been  on  my 
usual  round  of  the  slums  —  &  such  slums  1  Not  London  nor 
Paris  can  surpass  them  in  smell,  in  squalor  nor  in  interest. 
The  theatres  by  day  &  night  have  been  my  study  —  &  the 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  299 

Churches,  from  St.  Peter's  to  St.  Clements  &  the  Capucin 
Monastery  !  —  The  studios  have  been  thrown  open  to  me,  & 
two  receptions  by  Randolph  Rogers  &  Charles  Coleman  have 
been  prepared  for  me.  Tomorrow  Story  is  to  read  me  a  comedy 
in  his  studio  —  &  Monday  I  leave  for  London  again,  where  I 
shall  resume  work  on  the  play  —  strengthened  &  freshened 
by  this  dreamy  visit  which  I  could  not  accept  for  any  other 
season,  as  my  hosts  go  to  Naples  the  day  I  leave  here." 

"Thursday,  Feb.  6,  104  Regent  St. 

The  annexed  ^  in  this  morning's  paper  will  shock  you  as 
much  as  it  stuns  me  for  a  moment : 

'General  sympathy  will  be  expressed  for  Mr.  F.  B.  Chat- 
terton  in  his  new  misfortune.  It  is  no  secret  that  the  present 
Drury  Lane  pantomime  was  not  a  financial  success,  and  that  the 
source  of  profit  which  has  for  many  years  past  sufficed  to  sup- 
port the  losses  at  Drury  Lane  during  the  rest  of  the  year  had 
thus  been  cut  off".  Mr.  Chatterton  proposed  to  his  artists  that 
they  should  accept  half  salaries  during  the  rest  of  the  season. 
These  terms  were,  out  of  respect  and  esteem  for  their  old  man- 
ager, accepted  by  a  majority  of  the  company,  but  the  Yokes 
Family  declined  them.  As  the  pantomime  could  not  be  per- 
formed without  the  Yokes  Family,  the  house  was  closed  on 
Tuesday.  What  will  be  the  ultimate  fate  of  the  theatre  is  at 
present  doubtful ;  but  that  Mr.  Chatterton  will  soon  again 
be  on  his  legs,  and  in  the  direction  of  a  place  of  amusement  less 
unfortunate  than  Drury  Lane  has  been,  is  considered  certain  by 
those  who  have  observed  the  energy  and  courage  Mr.  Chat- 
terton has  displayed  through  life.'  " 

"  Saturday,  Feb.  8. 

Chatterton  has  just  left  me.  His  intention  is  to  put  himself 
into  bankruptcy,  but  he  has  a  prospect  in  regard  to  my  play 
which  may  yet  get  it  before  the  public  at  Drury  Lane.  He  is 
to  have  an  interview  with  the  Committee  of  Drury  Lane  (it  is 
owned  by  a  board)  in  a  few  days  —  &  he  will  see  if  they  will 
run  the  theatre  for  him  or  allow  it  to  be  run  for  him  —  pending 


300  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

bankruptcy  proceedings ;    if  so  he  will  arrange  for  the  produc- 
tion there  of  the  piece  on  Easter  Monday. 

If  not :  —  If  the  theatre  is  to  be  closed  against  him  —  he 
proposes  that  we  share  the  expenses  of  a  company  to  cast  it 
between  us  ;  that  we  offer  play  &  company  at  either  the  Adelphi 
or  the  Princess'  Theatre  for  50  per  cent  of  the  receipts  on  con- 
dition of  the  manager  giving  it  a  proper  get  up  &  advertising; 
&  share  the  profits.''^ 

"  104  Regent  St.,  Feb'y  18,  '79. 

At  every  theatre  they  are  doing  a  play  which  is  more  or  less 
musical  —  and  I  am  convinced  that  the  coming  success  with  us 
will  be  a  genuine  musical  comedy  :  something  less  extravagant 
than  Round  the  Clock,  but  really  a  true  comedy  interspersed 
with  songs,  duets,  and  choruses:  I  shall  spend  the  rest  of  my 
time  here  trying  to  engage  about  three  clever  &  pretty  women 
&  as  many  men  who  can  sing  &  act;  and  we  must  open  in 
New  York  next  season  with  this.  I  got  your  letters  of  the  12th 
&  19th  —  with  the  advice  about  coming  home.  I  have  thought 
seriously  of  doing  so  myself,  for  the  prospects  here  are  most 
uncertain ;  everybody  being  so  damnably  afraid  to  touch  a 
new  play,  or  a  new  author,  or  a  novelty  of  any  sort.  This  is 
the  universal  feeling  over  here  —  &  I'm  sure  the  country  will 
perish  of  dry  rot  some  day  or  other." 

"  104  Regent  St.,  March  14,  '79. 

I  shall  sail  either  in  the  Baltic  on  the  i8th  or  in  the  Brit- 
tanic  on  the  27th.  I  feel  decidedly  bitter  at  the  thought  of 
having  spent  so  much  time  fruitlessly;  and  giving  rise  to  so 
many  hopes  which  have  no  result  —  but  I  trust  that  the  months 
I  have  apparently  lost  here  will  not  be  altogether  without  some 
recompense  hereafter.  .  .  . 

I  resolved  as  far  as  the  new  play  was  concerned  not  to  risk 
a  cent,  or  spend  a  farthing  of  our  money  on  any  theatre  or 
manager  here.  If  they  did  not  feel  safe  in  going  in  for  the  risk 
—  I  felt  it  would  be  folly  for  me  to  trifle  away  more  time  or 
money  in  urging  it. 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  301 

So  I  am  coming  home.  Poor  as  I  went.  Quite  as  discour- 
aged. Unless  Eno  is  very  free  and  liberal  in  his  propositions  I 
don't  think  I  will  urge  him;  nor  will  I  think  of  any  other  theatre 
for  the  present. 

I  will  probably  have  the  strings  in  my  hand  of  two  or  three 
valuable  engagements  for  a  company  if  Fate  is  favorable  to  my 
resumption  of  management  —  and  if  that  is  really  to  be  ac- 
complished it  will  even  be  easy  enough  for  me  now  to  return 
here  in  July  to  secure  anything  specially  needed. 

I  would  not  take  another  new  theatre  for  ten  thousand 
dollars  free  gift.  You  know  I  overcame  my  old  prejudice  & 
'got  into'  the  28th  St.  house  —  with  the  result  wh.  I  always 
said  befell  the  first  manager  of  every  new  theatre.  He  is  only 
a  catspaw  which  monkey  Time  uses  to  pull  the  hot  nuts  out  for 
some  favorite." 

To  sum  up  Augustin's  experience  with  English  the- 
atrical affairs  :  Mr.  Gooch  of  the  Princess  Theatre  talked 
with  him  about  "Under  the  Gaslight"  for  Easter;  Mr. 
John  S.  Clarke  of  the  Haymarket  asked  for  "Lemons" 
to  read;  Gooch  afterwards  sent  for  "A  Flash  of  Light- 
ning." Nothing  was  eventually  accepted.  Finally  Chat- 
terton  offered  an  opening  at  Drury  Lane  for  a  local  melo- 
drama, arranged  the  terms,  three  guineas  a  night,  and 
approved  episodes  from  "A  Dark  City,"  "A  Flash  of 
Lightning,"  and  "Under  the  Gaslight,"  with  new  London 
scenes  and  characters  arranged  so  as  to  make  a  new 
play.  Meanwhile,  Henderson  of  the  Folly  Theatre  read 
"Lemons"  and  "The  Big  Bonanza"  and  accepted 
"Lemons"  for  The  Criterion  Theatre  managed  by  Wynd- 
ham.  Daly  put  it  in  rehearsal  there,  but  after  two  at- 
tempts found  the  cast  inadequate  and  the  performers  in- 
different, and  withdrew  it.  The  Olympic  Theatre  sent 
for  "Pique,"  but  did  not  like  the  story. 

Chatterton  began  the  scenery  for  the  new  piece  at  old 


302  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Drury  —  Beanly  was  the  artist  —  and  arranged  for 
Charles  Lamb  Kenney,  son  of  the  author  of  a  famous 
old  farce,  "Paul  Pry,"  to  introduce  Daly  to  the  fraternity 
of  dramatic  critics  (his  acquaintance  so  far  had  been  with 
managers),  and  the  author  began  his  explorations  of  the 
picturesque  side  of  London  for  material. 

While  this  was  going  on,  Mr.  Gooch  sent  for  "Pique," 
and  Mr.  Toole  asked  for  "Lemons"  and  "Bonanza." 
Suddenly  Chatterton  failed  and  had  to  surrender  Drury 
Lane,  as  we  have  seen,  and  that  closed  the  only  prospect 
of  an  opening  in  London. 

The  misfortune  of  Chatterton  must  have  recalled  to 
Augustin  his  own  similar  trouble  in  New  York.  There 
were  some  differences,  however.  Chatterton  went  through 
bankruptcy,  and  his  friends  got  up  a  benefit  for  him.  A 
committee  for  the  latter  purpose  was  organized  and  met 
in  Drury  Lane  Theatre  with  Arthur  Sterling  as  chairman. 
Augustin  was  placed  on  the  committee. 

The  want  of  appreciation  which  "Pique"  met  with 
from  the  London  managers  was  a  distinct  surprise. 
When  Miss  Davenport  was  in  England  the  previous 
summer,  Mapleson  wrote  to  her  from  Her  Majesty's 
Theatre  : 

"Dear  Miss  D,  ,_,  ,  ^     .      , 

Welcome  to  England. 

I  have  told  my  man  to  send  you  a  nice  box  for  Wednesday. 

Why  can't  we  do  'Pique'  at  Her  Majesty's.^  A  most  bril- 
liant chance  if  well  mounted  as  it  was  done  at  the  5th  Avenue, 
&  a  fortune  to  be  made.  Ever  yours 

J.  H.  Mapleson. 

They  don't  know  how  to  mount  a  piece  over  here." 

When  news  of  Chatterton's  trouble  reached  Rome, 
Mrs.  Tracy  wrote  immediately  : 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN    DALY  303 

,^      ,        ,  ,     T^  ,  "Rome,  Feb.  14th,  1879. 

My  dear  Mr.  Daly  ^     '       /^ 

Your  letter  telling  of  Chatterton's  failure  found  Mr.  &  Mrs. 
Vedder  and  a  gentleman  friend  at  dinner  with  us.  I  asked  to 
be  excused  while  I  read  it  —  and  when  I  told  them  the  bad  news 
I  wish  you  could  have  heard  all  our  exclamations  of  regret 
at  what  cannot  fail  to  be  a  great  disappointment  to  you.  I 
can't  tell  you  how  much  we  both  wish  you  could  have  known 
about  it  and  remained  with  us  a  few  weeks.  It  is  too  bad  that 
you  have  lost  this  chance  in  London,  but  perhaps  another  and 
a  better  one  may  turn  up  for  you  —  and  after  all  it  may  be  far 
better  under  the  present  circumstances  that  you  did  not  pro- 
duce your  play  at  Drury  Lane.  Let  us  hope  it  is  for  the  best. 
No  doubt  something  is  waiting  for  you  at  home  —  where  every- 
body is  sure  to  welcome  you  !  With  regard  to  me  —  we  are 
just  at  this  moment  trying  to  decide  what  is  wisest  for  us  to  do  ! 
Stay  in  Europe  or  return  to  America.  If  I  go  home  Frank  has 
no  objection  in  the  world  to  my  acting  —  but  I  don't  like  to 
urge  him  to  return  on  my  account  or  to  gratify  my  ambition 
possibly  at  the  expense  of  his  health.  When  I  know  how  he 
has  decided  I  will  let  you  know,  then  if  you  care  to  let  me  ap- 
pear under  your  management  I  shall  only  be  too  glad  to  do  so. 
I  am  sure  we  shall  not  disagree  on  the  subject  of  terms.  .  .  . 
Harkins  offered  to  play  me  after  two  hundred  dollars  a  night 
and  give  me  one  full  benefit.  If  we  should  be  able  to  arrange 
what  would  you  like  me  to  do  ?  I  have  nothing  except  'Agnes.' 
Would  you  like  to  do  some  of  your  own  pieces  ?  I  shall  be  in 
Paris  in  the  spring  and  if  there  should  be  anything  new  suit- 
able for  me  will  be  on  the  look  out.   .   .  . 

Mr.  Tracy  sends  warmest  and  enthusiastic  regards  —  and 
I  am  always  sincerely  Yours 

Agnes  E.  Tracy." 

Augustin  mentions  his  plans  for  engagements  to  be 
made  in  London  in  anticipation  of  an  opening  in  New 
York;  he  sought  Miss  Neilson  with  that  object.  Miss 
Neilson  did  not  play  under  his  management  when  he  was 


304  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

reestablished  in  New  York.  In  fact  her  history  after 
this  time  was  a  brief  one.  Her  last  appearance  in  America 
was  in  July,  1880,  and  the  next  month  she  died  in  Paris. 

Henry  Paulton,  one  of  the  prime  favorites  of  the 
English  comic  stage,  was  another  acquisition  Augustin 
had  in  mind,  but  Paulton  desired  to  be  introduced  as  a 
star  on  the  first  visit,  for,  as  he  wrote,  "I  don't  want  to 
waste  America." 

Among  the  earliest,  if  not  the  first,  of  the  proposals  to 
Henry  Irving  for  a  tour  of  the  United  States  was  one  from 
Mr.  Daly  made  at  this  time  (March  14,  1879)  before  he 
left  London.  He  offered  Irving  a  three  months'  engage- 
ment and  half  of  the  gross  receipts,  guaranteeing  $500 
for  each  performance,  Irving  to  play  5  nights  and  a 
matinee  each  week.  If  Miss  Ellen  Terry  could  be  in- 
duced to  accompany  him,  she  would  receive  ^500  per 
week  for  seven  performances,  and  select  her  own 
distinct  play  for  Saturday  nights.  The  company  was 
to  be  furnished  by  Mr.  Daly  and  to  include  a  leading 
English  actor  to  support  both  Irving  and  Miss  Terry. 
But  it  was  not  for  five  years  —  or  until  1883  —  that 
Irving  thought  the  time  propitious  for  the  American 
experiment,  and  then  he  brought  his  own  company  and 
scenery.  His  debut  at  the  Star  Theatre  (formerly 
Wallack's)  at  Thirteenth  Street  and  Broadway  will  be  re- 
called by  many  playgoers.  It  met  with  the  success  which 
my  brother  anticipated  at  the  early  date  of  which  we  have 
been  speaking.  Everything  Irving  did  in  his  first  days 
was  accepted,  and  he  dared  everything.  He  announced 
"The  Lady  of  Lyons"  at  the  Lyceum  in  1879  —  Mrs. 
Wood  wrote  of  it : 

"Irving   is   simply   ludicrous   as   Claude.     Terry   looks   too 
lovely  —  but  it  is  not  Pauline." 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  305 

While  Augustin  was  abroad  trying  to  acquire  an  open- 
ing, his  library  was  disposed  of  at  home.  It  was  sold  at 
public  auction,  at  Leavitt's  in  Clinton  Hall,  Astor  Place 
(the  site  of  the  old  Opera  House),  commencing  Monday, 
October  14,  1878.  Curiously  enough  our  old  school- 
mate John  H.  V.  Arnold  sold  his  library  at  auction  in 
the  same  year.  His  collection  contained  a  great  number 
of  theatrical  biographies,  but  was  especially  notable  for 
its  volumes  of  celebrated  and  criminal  trials,  perhaps  the 
most  complete  in  the  country.  Arnold  told  me  he  had 
to  dispose  of  his  books  because  they  took  up  too  much 
room.  If  I  remember  rightly,  his  catalogue  comprised 
over  three  thousand  lots.  I  think  that,  like  many  other 
"collectors,"  having  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  accumulat- 
ing, he  longed  for  the  excitement  of  "dispersing." 

The  sale  of  the  Daly  books  continued  for  five  nights, 
and  was  reported  by  Miss  Jeannette  Gilder  and  other 
representatives  of  the  press,  day  by  day,  in  a  very  com- 
petent and  appreciative  manner.  There  were  1037  titles, 
besides  eighty  which  belonged  to  Bouton,  the  bookseller,' 
who  catalogued  the  sale.  The  total  for  the '1037  reached 
^9969.63,  which,  after  deductions  for  auction  expenses, 
netted  something  under  ^8500.  The  auctioneers  and 
Bouton  thought  the  sale  very  successful,  although  Bouton 
conceded  that  the  books  did  not  bring  as  much  as  Mr.  Daly 
had  paid  for  them  at  private  sale  —  largely  to  Bouton 
himself.  The  collection  comprised  many  works  extra 
illustrated  by  former  owners  as  well  as  by  Daly.  Most 
were  of  the  kind  dear  to  lovers  of  the  theatre. 

The  most-talked-of  item  in  the  catalogue  was  Mr. 
Daly's  copy  of  Knight's  Pictorial  Shakespeare,  extended 
to  forty-four  volumes  by  the  insertion  of  3700  plates. 
There  were  also  Peter  Cunningham's  "Nell  Gwynne"; 
letters  of  the  comedian  J.  P.  Harley,  addressed  to  George 


3o6  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Daniell,  containing  matter  of  interest  in  the  drama  gen- 
erally; the  "Attic  Miscellany";  and  Brough  and  Cruik- 
shank's  "FalstafF,"  extra  illustrated.  The  volume  most 
cherished  by  Daly  was  his  own  illustrated  copy  of  the 
"Holland  Memorial,"  —  a  sketch  of  the  life  of  George 
Holland,  the  veteran  comedian,  with  dramatic  reminis- 
cences and  anecdotes,  Morrell,  1871,  Royal  4to,  of  which 
only  fifty  copies  were  printed.  It  was  extended  to  two 
thick  volumes,  imperial  quarto,  with  upwards  of  two 
hundred  plates  of  celebrated  actors  and  actresses,  Hol- 
land's contemporaries,  many  original  drawings  (one  by 
Tom  Worth,  of  Holland,  as  Dickens'  Fat  Boy  in  "Pick- 
wick," and  another  of  Holland  as  Paul  Pry),  together 
with  the  original  manuscript  account  of  the  "Holland 
Fund."  There  were  Chambers'  "  Book  of  Days,"  extended 
to  twelve  volumes  (one  for  each  month),  an  absolutely 
unique  collection,  labelled  "Human  Longevity";  obitu- 
aries of  many  singular  persons  of  both  sexes ;  a  collec- 
tion of  fifty  years  from  old  newspapers,  gazettes,  maga- 
zines, and  scarce  books,  bound  up  in  five  volumes,  imp. 
8vo.,  and  dated  London  1825-75. 

Bouton  tried  to  protect  some  of  the  "extra  illustrated" 
books  relating  to  the  stage  by  putting  an  "upset  price" 
upon  them  and  causing  them  to  be  bought  in  for  account 
of  Mr.  Daly;  but  all  of  them,  except  the  Records  of  the 
New  York  Stage,  were  subsequently  worked  off"  in  other 
sales,  public  or  private.  Little  was  left  of  the  proceeds 
of  the  sale  after  repaying  Bouton  his  advances,  made  to 
keep  the  theatre  going  in  its  last  season. 


CHAPTER  XX 

Return  from  England.  At  work  upon  "L'Assommoir."  Engagement 
of  Ada  Rehan.  Frank  W.  Sanger.  Mrs.  Harry  Watkins.  A  fine 
production  of  "L'Assommoir, "  but  no  public  for  the  prohibition 
drama.  Looking  for  a  theatre ;  the  present  site  of  Daly's  is  selected. 
Efforts  to  bring  Irving  to  America  fruitless.  Efforts  to  take  Booth 
to  London  now  fail.  Correspondence.  Account  of  Booth's 
early  visit  to  England.  Mrs.  Sykes  writes  about  the  Terry  sis- 
ters. An  echo  of  the  days  of  the  Melville  Troupe.  Harry  Sey- 
mour settled  with  at  last.  Making  over  an  old  theatre  into  a  new 
one.  How  to  bring  the  auditorium  down  one  story.  Daly's 
gift  for  reconstruction.  Charles  Fechter  disapproves  unavailingly. 
The  company  engaged.  Beginning  of  a  world-famous  organiza- 
tion. Their  modest  salaries,  particularly  Miss  Rehan's  and 
Drew's.  Fisher  acquiesces.  Parkes  is  horrified,  LeClercq  re- 
signed, Davidge  completely  subdued.  Georgiana  Drew  (Mrs. 
Barrymore).  Otis  Skinner.  Catherine  Lewis  unknown.  Mr. 
Daly's  terms  the  ruling  rates.  Miss  May  Fielding  recommended 
by  Miss  Ethel.  Full  list  of  the  company  and  salaries.  Expenses 
of  the  new  establishment.  Youth,  talent,  ambition,  and  trust. 
What  Mrs.  Gilbert  and  Mr.  Lewis  (now  with  Abbey)  say. 

Daly  returned  from  England  considerably  poorer  than 
when  he  went  there,  except  for  the  knowledge  of  warm 
English  hospitality  and  the  useful  experience  of  the 
London  theatres  and  managers.  He  brought  back  with 
him  the  play  "L'Assommoir,"  which  he  had  seen  in  Paris 
and  disliked  ;  but  Charles  Warner  had  made  a  great  hit 
in  London  in  the  delirium  tremens  scene  as  described  by 
Zola,  and  Mr.  John  DuflF  remitted  two  hundred  pounds  to 
bring  the  play  over.  He  advised  Daly  to  produce  it  at 
the  Olympic  Theatre.  Of  this  venture,  in  a  now  out-of- 
the-way  playhouse,  whose  popularity  had  departed,  it 
would   be   unnecessary   to   record   more   than   its   failure, 

307 


3o8  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

except  that  the  engagements  for  the  production  brought 
to  Mr.  Daly's  notice  the  young  girl  who  was  later  to 
become  a  queen  of  comedy.  Mr.  Gardner,  manager  of 
Mrs.  John  Drew's  Philadelphia  theatre,  was  employed 
to  collect  a  suitable  company  for  "L'Assommoir,"  and 
among  his  other  recommendations  came  this  one  : 

"New  York,  April  ii,  1879. 
My  dear  Mr.  Daly, 

Miss  Ada  Rehan  who  will  play  with  Miss  Davenport  at  the 
Grand  next  week  is  a  tall  beautiful  girl  and  splendid  actress.  I 
would  advise  you  to  see  her  by  all  means." 

Miss  Rehan  was  playing  Mary  Standish  to  Miss  Fanny 
Davenport's  Mabel  Renfrew  in  Daly's  "Pique,"  and 
showed  intelligence  and  adaptability,  aided  by  a  "velvet 
voice,"  as  Mr.  Depew  in  after  years  described  it.  She 
was  engaged  for  the  small  part  of  Virginia  and  after- 
wards given  Clemence  in  the  brief  run  of  "L'Assom- 
moir." 

The  version  produced  at  the  Olympic  was  the  French 
dramatization  of  Zola's  novel  done  over  into  English 
by  Mrs.  Olive  Logan  Sykes,  who,  in  fact,  negotiated  the 
purchase  with  the  play-broker  Mayer. 

Among  the  other  actors  engaged  for  "L'Assommoir" 
were  the  young  Frank  W.  Sanger,  afterwards  to  become 
a  noted  theatrical  and  operatic  manager,  Harry  Meredith, 
Frank  Drew,  and  Mrs.  Harry  Watkins,  formerly  Mrs. 
Charles  Howard,  and  earlier,  Rosina  Shaw,  one  of  three 
talented  sisters,  favorites  in  concert  and  in  drama  since 
1839.  She  had  been  a  leading  lady  for  years  in  England 
as  well  as  in  America,  and  now,  nearing  her  sixtieth  year, 
proved  her  vivacity  by  assuming  an  urchin  part. 

With  every  aid  from  a  competent  company,  adequate 
equipmentand  experienced  stage  direction,  "L'Assommoir  " 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  309 

—  as  the  play  was  called  —  failed  to  receive  the  favor 
bestowed  upon  it  in  London.  The  New  York  public  was 
not  to  be  attracted  by  such  moral  dramas  as  "The  Drunk- 
ard" and  "The  Bottle,"  which  had  for  many  years  dis- 
puted with  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  the  favor  of  rural 
audiences.  The  lack  of  interest  was  perceived  on  the 
first  night.  After  three  weeks  the  play  was  withdrawn. 
This  was  a  greater  disappointment  to  Mr.  DuflF  than  to 
Mr.  Daly,  who  had  had  little  faith  in  melodramas  "of 
low  life  after  the  failure  of  "The  Dark  City."  With 
undiminished  confidence  in  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  Duff"  now 
encouraged  the  renewal  of  his  efforts  for  a  permanent 
footing,  and  it  was  found  that  the  Broadway  Theatre 
(near  Thirtieth  Street)  was  in  the  market. 

A  moment  may  be  spared  to  recall  a  further  eflfort  to 
bring  Henry  Irving  and  Miss  Ellen  Terry  to  America. 
Mrs.  Olive  Logan  Sykes,  on  Daly's  behalf,  enlisted  Mr. 
McHenry,  the  banker,  and  Sir  Henry  Wikoff  in  this 
attempt,  and  had  several  interviews  with  Irving,  who  told 
her  of  splendid  offers  of  the  same  kind  from  Max  Strakosch, 
Wallack,  and  Boucicault.  She  gathered  that  only  Wal- 
lack's  had  so  far  been  considered  ;  but  Irving  told  her 
that  he  liked  Mr.  Daly  and  thought  him  a  sincere  man. 
In  the  course  of  this  talk  he  broached  the  scheme  of  having 
Edwin  Booth  play  in  the  Lyceum  in  London,  while  he 
(Irving)  played  in  America,  and  stated  that  Booth  had 
written  him  a  long  letter  about  it.  He  said  he  admired 
Booth's  acting  and  was  sure  he  could  please  "if  his  pieces 
were  properly  done."  He  purposed  that  Miss  Terry 
should  remain  in  London  to  support  Booth,  and  that  her 
sisters  Marion  and  Florence  should  come  to  America 
with  him.  In  Mrs.  Sykes'  opinion,  Mr.  Daly's  offer  to 
deposit  ^10,000  as  security  for  the  tour  influenced  Mr. 
Irving,   who,   as    she    expressed   it,   meant   to   deal   with 


3IO  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Mr.   Daly   "fair   and    square"    as    to   sharing    terms,   so 
that  Mr.  Daly  should  not  bear  all  the  risk. 

Upon  receipt  of  this  information,  Daly  wrote  at  once 
to  Booth,  proposing  the  season  at  the  Lyceum,  and  re- 
ceived the  following : 

"68  Madison  Ave. 
June  4th,  1879. 
Augn.  Daly  Esqr. 
Dear  Sir 

Mr.  Irving  is  fully  acquainted  with  my  views  on  the  subject 
to  which  you  refer,  and  I  am  surprised  that  he  should  entertain 
or  express  a  hope  that  I  should  visit  England  without  communi- 
cating with  me  directly.  I  have  not  yet  'screwed  my  resolution 
to  the  sticking  place'  concerning  a  professional  visit  to  England, 
consequently  am  not  prepared  to  negotiate. 

Truly  yours 
Edwin  Booth." 

The  curtness  of  this  response  made  my  brother  wonder 
if  it  were  caused  by  any  personal  grievance  connected 
with  himself,  and  he  immediately  inquired  of  Booth, 
who  responded  in  a  way  to  dispel  his  apprehension,  even 
if  it  did  throw  a  shadow  across  the  Atlantic  : 

"June  6th,  1879. 
Augustin  Daly  Esq. 
Dear  Sir 

I  cannot  conceive  why  you  should  suppose  me  to  be  in- 
fluenced against  you  by  some  "secret  offense" — such  is  not 
the  case,  therefore  rid  your  mind  at  once  of  that  annoyance 
—  if  it  be  one.  The  cause  of  my  'surprise'  at  Mr.  Irving's 
conduct  concerns  none  but  our  two  selves,  and,  for  the  present, 
it  must  remain  a  mystery !  ^^.^1^  ^,^^^^^ 

Edwin  Booth." 

Booth  had  visited  England  as  early  as  1861,  opening  at 
the    Haymarket    what    proved    to    be    an    unsuccessful 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN    DALY  31 1 

season.  He  played  Shylock,  Sir  Giles  Overreach,  and 
Richelieu,  and  only  in  the  latter  part  did  he  extract  any- 
thing like  warm  praise  from  the  press.  A  brief  tour  in 
the  provinces  carried  him  to  Manchester,  where  he  found 
Irving  in  the  stock  company  that  supported  him.  Irving 
played  Cassio  to  his  Othello,  Laertes  to  his  Hamlet,  and 
Bassanio  to  his  Shylock.  Irving's  admiration  of  Booth's 
acting  doubtless  dated  from  that  time;  his  own  rise  was 
rapid  from  the  time  that  he  was  "discovered"  by  Bateman 
and  became  the  chief  attraction  of  the  Lyceum  in  London. 

The  unappreciative  reception  which  Booth  found  in 
1 86 1  doubtless  caused  him  for  many  years  to  look  with  no 
particular  favor  upon  a  second  journey  abroad,  and  it  was 
not  until  1880,  the  year  following  his  writing  of  the  above 
letters,  that  he  reappeared  in  London.  This  was  not  at 
the  Lyceum,  but  at  the  Princess,  under  Gooch.  His 
engagement  lasted  a  hundred  nights,  beginning  with 
Hamlet,  which  was  coldly  received  (this  was  one  of  Irving's 
parts)  and  followed  by  Richelieu,  which  again  proved 
most  popular.  The  next  year  whatever  remained  of  the 
"mystery"  was  evidently  happily  dissipated,  for  he  and 
Irving  played  together  at  the  Lyceum  in  "Othello," 
Irving  assuming  lago  and  Ellen  Terry  Desdemona. 

With  reference  to  Irving's  suggestion  about  an  engage- 
ment for  Miss  Terry's  sisters,  it  will  be  interesting  to 
hear  of  the  impression  they  made  upon  Mrs.  Sykes,  who 
had  theatrical  experience,  was  herself  gifted  with  a  fine 
stage  presence,  and  was  an  excellent  judge  of  that  qualifi- 
cation in  others  : 

"May  19. 

Miss  Marion  Terry  &  her  mother  called  on  me  the  other  day. 
She  is  very  sweet  &  gentle  —  almost  as  much  so  as  Ellen.  She 
is  engaged  for  the  Prince  of  Wales'  until  a  year  from  next  July. 
Mrs.  Terry  informed  me  that  she  is  to  get  almost  the  figure  you 


312  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

offered  her  ...  &  all  costumes  found.  .  .  .  The  next  day  she 
wrote  me  that  their  ideas  for  America  were  far,  far  beyond  £40 
a  week  .  .  .  Florence  is  disengaged  but  they  would  not  let  her 
go  out  alone.  In  regard  to  Ellen  there  is  no  use  approaching  her 
yet.  She  is  bound  to  Irving  &  indeed  it  is  his  fixed  intention  to 
leave  her  here  when  he  goes,  as  he  wants  pieces  done  for  her  & 
believes  she  would  draw  in  them." 

"July  ID,  '79. 

I  have  written  Helen  Stewart  to  call  on  me.  Mrs.  Terry  with 
Marion  &  Florence  called  on  me  yesterday.  The  girls  made  a 
tremendous  sensation  in  the  hotel  —  they  are  lovely.  I  am  to 
see  Ellen  whenever  I  like,  but  her  mother  tells  me  she  don't  want 
to  go  to  America.  Mrs.  T.  says  the  salary  you  offer  Florence 
is  only  £2  a  week  in  advance  of  what  Neville  gave  her.  She 
says  (&  others  have  told  me  the  same)  that  the  established  rule 
with  English  artists  is  not  to  go  to  America  for  less  than  3  times 
what  they  get  here,  else  there  is  no  profit.  ...  I  am  pegging 
away  at  'Newport'  and  will  work  in  your  ideas." 

There  was  another  proposition  for  an  American  tour 
which  may  be  briefly  referred  to.  It  came  from  my 
brother's  early  friend  Mrs.  Bateman,  and  concerned  the 
bringing  over  of  her  daughter  Isabel  and  Charles  Warner 
in  Wills'  play,  "Charles  I,"  which  had  been  a  very 
successful  English  production,  and  in  which  Miss  Bateman 
created  the  part  of  Henrietta  Maria. 

My  brother's  own  plays  continued  attractive.  While 
Miss  Davenport  had  a  virtual  monopoly  of  the  society 
dramas,  Louis  James,  now  starring,  wanted  "Monsieur 
Alphonse,"  and  the  old  favorite  "Under  the  Gaslight" 
was  acquired  by  Gus  Phillips,  whose /or/^  was  "Dutch" 
dialect  parts,  and  who  played  the  one-armed  soldier, 
Snorkey^  as  a  German-American  veteran. 

If  the  reader  remembers  the  boyish  adventure  of 
the  "Melville  Troupe,"  twenty-three  years  before  this, 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  313 

he  will  not  have  forgotten  the  loyal  way  In  which  Harry 
Seymour,  the  costumer,  without  the  shadow  of  a  prospect 
of  remuneration  for  his  services,  opened  his  trunks  and 
robed  the  boys  and  girls  for  their  performances.  It  is 
good  to  read   this  extract  from  a  letter  of  his  : 

"Seymour's  Costume  Depot,  62 
East  1 2th  Street.      The  largest 
collection   of   Costumes,   Arms, 
Banners  and  Paraphernalia  for 
Theatres,    Circuses,    Balls    and 
Tableaux   in   America. 
New  York,  May  13,  1879. 
Augustin  Daly  Esqr 
Dear  Sir 

Mrs.  S.  unites  with  me  in  rendering  to  you  our  heartfelt 
thanks  for  the  generous  assistance  rendered  to  us  on  the  15th 
ult.  That  assistance  saved  us  from  being  put  In  the  street, 
and  believe  me  If  there  is  any  way  or  means  in  our  power  by 
which  we  can  more  than  by  thanks  gratefully  express  our 
appreciation  command  us  and  we  will  prove  It.  .  .  . 
Believe  me  ever  yours  to  command 

Harry  J.  Seymour." 

I  remember  Seymour  well,  and  my  brother  and  I 
often  laughed  over  the  episode  of  the  "Melville  Troupe," 
recalling  poor  Harry's  blank  face  when  confronted  with 
an  empty  exchequer;  and  how  he  nevertheless  gallantly 
helped  out  the  desperate  youthful  venture ;  but  such  was 
my  brother's  reticence  in  those  things  that  until  I  came 
upon  this  letter  after  his  death,  I  never  knew  that  he  had 
found  a  means  of  returning  that  long-past  kindness.  And  I 
like  to  think  that  out  of  the  mist  of  those  golden  days 
there  was  evolved  from  time  to  time  some  other  figure 
who  came  to  Augustin  and  recalled  his  or  her  share  in 
the  wonderful  performance ;    that  even  the  German  band 


314  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

were  ultimately  paid  according  to  their  magnanimity; 
and  certainly  that  the  good  girls,  who  read  up  in  "Mac- 
beth" and  "Poor  Pillicoddy"  and  "Toodles"  until  they 
were  dead  letter  perfect,  were  not  forgotten. 

But  to  return  to  the  bustling  days  of  1879  and  the  mak- 
ing of  "Daly's  Theatre."  Not  the  least  attraction  of 
this  property  was  that  it  was  so  run  down  and  antiquated 
that  it  could  be  had  for  the  very  low  rental  of  ^14,000 
for  the  first  year  and  ^16,000  for  the  next  —  an  important 
consideration,  as  the  alterations  my  brother  designed 
would  cost  at  least  ^18,000.  The  first  step  was  to  obliter- 
ate every  reminder  of  the  old  "museum"  days,  among 
whose  later  attractions  was  a  huge  stone  image  called  the 
"Cardiff  Giant,"  which  had  been  dug  up  years  before  on 
a  farm  in  the  upper  part  of  the  State  and  exhibited  as  the 
petrified  remains  of  a  prehistoric  man.  A  humorous 
controversy  was  started  at  the  time  in  the  press  concern- 
ing its  authenticity.  There  was  no  doubt  that  it  had  been 
dug  up  at  the  place  specified,  —  affidavits  of  the  fact 
being  plentiful,  —  but  there  was  much  curiosity  as  to  the 
date  of  its  interment.  The  publicity  warranted  Banvard 
in  bringing  the  huge  figure  to  New  York  and  placing  it 
in  this  museum  among  the  antiquities  on  the  first  floor. 
The  old  theatre  had  an  entrance  on  Broadway,  fifty 
feet  long,  terminating  in  a  steep  stairway  of  some  nineteen 
steps  which  led  to  the  auditorium.  The  auditorium  itself, 
constructed  on  a  plan  almost  as  antique  as  the  Cardiff 
Giant,  contained  a  high  stage  with  two  proscenium  boxes 
perched  over  the  footlights.  Upon  this  discouraging 
situation  the  constructive  mind  of  Mr.  Daly  brooded  but 
a  short  time,  and  then,  with  the  aid  of  Mr.  S.  D.  Hatch, 
the  architect,  contrived  the  most  surprising  changes. 
The  auditorium  was  practically  brought  down  to  the 
ground  floor  by  the  simple  expedient  of  distributing  the 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  315 

nineteen  steps  along  the  whole  length  of  the  fifty  foot 
passage.  Four  steps  were  placed  at  the  street,  seven 
between  the  box  office  and  the  main  doors,  four  led  up 
to  the  ticket-taker's  rail,  and  four  more  to  the  auditorium. 
The  entrance  was  widened  and  tiled,  and  the  extensive 
foyer  carpeted,  furnished,  and  ornamented  with  mantels, 
mirrors,  and  paintings. 

The  stage  was  lowered  considerably;  a  new  proscenium 
arch  was  erected  to  frame  the  stage  pictures  ;  three  private 
boxes  on  each  side  were  built,  and  new  ceilings  erected. 
The  theatre  as  it  exists  to-day  presents,  after  thirty-six 
years,  the  design  of  Mr.  Daly,  with  his  decorations  and 
embellishments  added  from  season  to  season.  Augustin 
dearly  loved  to  exercise  his  gift  for  reconstruction  — 
mechanical  as  well  as  literary;  but  a  letter  of  Charles 
Fechter  voiced  the  general  doubt  as  to  his  wisdom  in 
transforming  the  old  house  : 

"I  can't  agree  with  you  on  the  beautiful  situation  of  the 
Broadway  theatre  nor  can  I  agree  with  you  on  the  tearing  down 
of  the  place  and  remodeling  back  and  front. 

There  is  to  my  mind  very  little  to  do  in  the  shape  of  main 
changes.     Decoration  is  the  only  want,  and  working  of  stage. 

You  can  master  in  both ;  and  maybe  I  can  efficiently  help 
in  the  'carry-out'  of  your  thoughts  and  improvements.  But  — 
for  God's  sake  (and  your  own)  don't  begin  with  real  extravagant 
expenses  —  but  make  believe  they  are  accomplished. 

The  masses  will  know  no  better  and  give  you  the  same  credit 
as  if  you  foolishly  ruined  yours,  before  even  opening  your  doors." 

As  in  the  opening  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  ten  years 
before,  the  manager  now  surrounded  himself  mostly  with 
young  ambition.  There  were  new  policies  to  be  pursued 
for  which  new  and  plastic  talent  was  required.  The  two 
members  of  the  Daly  company  destined  to  be  linked 
indissolubly  together  m  the  memories  of  the  longest  and 


3i6  THE   LIFE  OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

brightest  day  of  his  management  were  content  to  begin 
with  moderate  salaries  for  the  sake  of  being  attached  to 
that  management : 

"June  29th,  1879. 
My  dear  Mr.  Daly 

In  accordance  with  your  desire  that  I  should  state  my  terms, 
may  I  hope  that  forty  dollars  ($40)  per  week  will  not  seem  an 
'iniquitous'  demand.  I  have,  I  feel,  improved  in  one  point  at 
least  since  our  former  connection,  &  that  is  in  my  manner  of 
speaking,  which,  as  you  are  aware,  frequently  rendered  what  I 
had  to  say  in  a  degree  unintelligible  by  reason  of  bad  enunciation 
and  rapidity.  This,  I  think,  I  have  'reformed  altogether'  by 
almost  an  entire  season  in  a  semi-serious  part  which  demanded 
slowness  &  distinct  utterance. 

Hoping  to  hear  from  you  when  you  have  given  the  above  your 

consideration  I  remain 

Yours  very  sincerely 

John  Drew." 

"324  West  33rd.  St. 
My  dear  Mr.  Daly 

I  beg  to  say  that  I  will  accept  your  offer  of  thirty  or  thirty- 
five  dollars  per  week  for  next  season.  Hoping  sincerely  that  it 
may  be  in  your  power  —  as  I  am  sure  it  is  your  inclination  — 

to  make  it  the  latter, 

I  remam 

Very  sincerely 

John  Drew." 

"Long  Branch,  June  26th/79. 
Augustin  Daly  Esq. 
Dear  Sir 

Having  heard  that  you  propose  to  manage  the  Broadway 
Theatre  the  coming  season  I  would  like  to  negotiate  for  a 
position  with  you  to  play  the  juvenile  &  light  comedy,  or  in  fact 
such  parts  as  I  may  be  suited  for.  I  have  several  good  offers  for 
next  season,  some  to  travel,  others  for  permanent  positions, 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  317 

but  I  want  to  remain  (if  possible)  in  the  City  and  I  would  like 
very  much  to  play  under  your  management,  if  agreeable  to  you. 
My  salary  will  be  reasonable.  I  have  a  very  handsome  &  abun- 
dant wardrobe,  &  am  constantly  adding  to  it.  If  you  think  you 
(can)  entertain  my  application  I  would  be  pleased  to  hear  from 
you,  soon  as  possible,  even  if  you  cannot  make  definite  arrange- 
ments. Let  me  have  your  views,  that  I  may  know  how  to  decide 
about  other  offers.  Trusting  to  get  a  reply  as  early  as  con- 
venient 

I  am  yours  truly 

Ada  Rehan." 

"Dear  Sir 

I  am  in  receipt  of  your  favor.  I  am  willing  to  risk  engaging 
with  you,  with  no  stipulated  time,  trusting  you  will  do  what 
is  right  in  casting  me  for  such  parts  as  you  deem  advisable.  I 
will  make  my  salary  $40  per  week,  and  that  is  the  very  lowest  I 
can  entertain.  I  have  several  advantageous  offers,  and  two,  /  give 
you  my  word  of  honor,  are  for  $50.  Thus  you  perceive  I  am  trying 
to  meet  your  views  as  to  salary.  Will  you  kindly  let  me  know 
your  reply  as  I  have  to  give  the  Chestnut  in  Phila.  an  answer,  as 
they  are  waiting  &  I  must  decide  soon.  I  may  say  that  I  will 
dress  everything  as  elaborately  as  will  be  consistent  with  the 
character.     Hoping  to  hear  from  you,  I  am 

Yours  sincerely 

Ada  Rehan. 

P.S.  Will  you  please  say  when  you  expect  your  season  to 
commence." 

"Dear  Sir: 

I  write  to  formally  close  the  engagement  with  you  for  the 
season  of  '79  &  '80.  I  accept  your  offer  of  $35  per  week  with  the 
understanding  that  you  will  increase  it  as  you  promised  should  I 
be  worth  more  to  you  —  which  I  sincerely  trust  will  be  the  case. 
What  I  am  most  anxious  for  is  to  play  good  business,  as  I  am 
refusing  a  positive  leading  position  &  higher  salary  to  accept  the 
engagement  with  you.     However  I  will  leave  the  matter  of  bus. 


3i8  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

entirely  in  your  hands  feeling  confident  you  will  do  what  is  just. 
Let  me  hear  if  this  is  understood  satisfactorily. 

Yours  very  truly 

Ada  Rehan. 

Byron  Cottage,  Atlanticville,  Long  Branch,  July  9th  '79." 

Charles  Fisher  wrote : 

"N.Y.  June  24th,  1879. 

74  West  53d  St. 
Dear  Sir 

I  will  take  $100  per  week.  I  cannot  take  less,  and  I  am  con- 
fident there  is  not  at  any  first-class  theatre  in  the  City  an  actor 
holding  my  position  with  so  small  salary.  I  mean  men  like 
Gilbert,  Stoddart,  Parselle  &  Beckett  &c.  These  gentlemen  get 
from  twenty  five  to  fifty  per  cent  more  than  I  ask,  and  are  some- 
times out  of  the  bills  till  they  grumble,  an  arrangement  with 
which  I  should  not  be  so  discontented.  I  think  this  proves  I 
have   considered   the   change   in   times   and   prices.     I   remain 

Dear  Sir 

Yours  respectfully 

Charles  Fisher." 

George  Parkes,  who  had  lately  been  starring,  wrote 
in  reply  to  the  question  what  salary  he  expected,  — 

"Of  course  the  most  I  can  get,  and  as  you  are  the  Napoleon  of 
managers  as  regards  salaries,  placing  them  upon  a  footing  that 
others  had  to  compete  with,  I  think  I  am  safe  in  trusting  to  your 
decision." 

Mr.    Daly    seems    to   have    rewarded    this    confidence   of 
Parkes  by  an  offer  which  elicited  the  following : 

"July  3d. 

Shades  of  Cesar  Napoleon,  never !  —  Well,  hardly  ever. 
Star  in  Dundreary  one  season  and  offered  $35  the  next !  '  Apres 
moi  le  deluge  ! '     After  my  expenses  both  private  &  public  I  have 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  319 

no  doubt  /  might  borrow  enough  to  eke  out  the  season  —  but 
should  I  die  —  there's  the  rub.  I  will  descend  from  Mont  Blanc 
(the  heighth  I  had  placed  the  salary)  to  $40,  and  could  not  meet 
my  expenses  and  debts  under,  though  I  have  no  doubt  many 
can  afford  to  do  so.  Yours  in  melancholia 

G.  Parkes." 

Charles  Leclercq,  as  accomplished  a  character  artist 
as  ever  lived,  was  content  with  ^50,  Davidge,  one  of 
the  sterling  actors  of  his  day,  who  bore  one  of  the  kind- 
est of  hearts  and  possessed  a  wealth  of  professional  learn- 
ing, wrote  : 

"Give  me  $60.  You  know  I  am  worth  a  great  deal  more 
than  the  sum  you  name,  and  believe  me 

Yours  sincerely 

Wm.  Davidge." 

And  he  was  persuaded  to  take  ^50.  Mollenhauer  (E.  R.), 
one  of  the  best  conductors  of  his  day,  furnished  an 
orchestra  of  sixteen  pieces,  including  three  soloists,  and 
his  own  services  as  conductor,  for  ^280  per  week.  James 
Roberts,  scenic  artist,  one  of  the  daintiest  brushes  of 
any  theatre,  was  content  with  ^60. 

Of  those  who  wished  to  enroll  with  Mr,  Daly  were  the 
charming  Georgie  Drew,  wife  of  Maurice  Barrymore,  and 
Otis  Skinner,  then  at  the  outset  of  his  career.  It  is  part 
of  the  history  of  those  youthful  days  that  he  was  willing 
to  accept  terms  Identical  with  those  of  Mr.  Drew  and  Miss 
Rehan. 

Among  the  comparatively  unknown  names  on  the 
first  programme  of  the  new  house  was  that  of  Catherine 
Lewis.  As  the  season  progressed  and  she  was  fitted 
with  parts  up  to  her  capacity  for  acting  as  well  as  singing, 
the  press  declared  that  she  furnished  another  Instance  of 


320  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Mr.  Daly's  genius  for  discovering  unsuspected  talent. 
She  was  engaged  primarily  for  singing  parts  in  the  musical 
programme  with  which  he  intended  to  vary  his  entertain- 
ments. She  was  not  altogether  a  beginner,  but  she  was 
beginning  with  Mr.  Daly,  and  her  last  letter  and  his 
ultimatum  are  characteristic: 

"July  15,  '79- 
137  Henry  St.  New  York. 
Dear  Mr.  Daly 

I  will  accept  your  offer  of  $45  per  week  as  Prima  Donna  for 
the  season  79-80  at  your  Theatre  in  New  York  —  you  to  furnish 
me  with  all  costumes  complete. 

Sincerely  yours 

Catherine  Lewis." 

Mr.  Daly's  reply  is  drafted  at  the  foot  of  the  last  com- 
munication and  is  notable  for  his  resolution  to  eliminate 
the  "star"  feature  from  his  company: 

"I  accept  the  terms  &  the  costumes:  leave  out  the  Prima 
Donna  phraseology:  substitute  'for  chief  singing  business' 
or  anything  else  of  that  kind." 

A  very  charming  person.  Miss  May  Fielding,  wholly 
new  to  the  stage,  was  recommended  to  Mr.  Daly  by  Mrs. 
Agnes  Ethel  Tracy. 

A  number  of  young  people  with  good  voices  were  added. 
The  full  list  included  Harry  Lacy,  Hart  Conway,  Frank 
Bennett,  E.  P.  Wilkes,  and  Messrs.  Iredale,  Edwards, 
Sterling,  Hunting,  Morton,  Brien,  Watson,  Solomon, 
Murphy,  Edgar  Smith,  Walsh,  Burnham,  Lawrence,  and 
Newborough  ;  Mrs.  Poole,  and  the  Misses  Helen  Blythe, 
Margaret  Lanner,  Maggie  Harrold,  Regina  Dace,  Mabel 
Jordan,  Annie  Wakeman,  Estelle  Clayton,  May  Bowers, 
Georgiana  Flagg,  Isabel   Everson,  Nellie  Howard,  Lillie 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  321 

Vinton,  Emma  Hinckley,  Sydney  Nelson,  Sara  Lascelles, 
Maggie  Barnes,  Laura  Thorpe,  Emma  Wharton,  Emma 
Hamilton,  Lillie  Stewart,  A.  Lovell,  Fanny  McNeil, 
Grace  Logan,  Ella  Remetze,  and  Dora  Knowlton,  who, 
long  after,  put  her  experiences  into  a  book  called  "A 
Daly  Debutante." 

It  is  pleasant  to  know  that  Mrs.  Clara  Fisher  Maeder 
applied  for  a  position  as  delineator  of  "comedy  and 
character  old  woman."  She  was  born  in  181 1,  was  at 
first  a  "child  star,"  and  after  growing  up  played  Ophelia 
to  Charles  Kemble's  Hamlet.  And  it  is  interesting,  too, 
to  find  "Yankee  Locke"  (so  named  from  his  "down  east" 
dialect  parts)  soliciting  the  place  of  "chief  comedian  in 
the  new  corps  dramatique."  As  Maitresse  de  ballet^ 
Miss  Malvina  was  engaged,  a  capable  artist  and  sterling 
woman. 

Some  pecuniary  details  are  not  unwelcome,  especially 
when  they  serve  for  contrast  with  present  conditions,  and 
show  with  what  seamanship  the  still  youthful  manager 
prepared  himself  for  all  weathers.  The  weekly  salaries 
for  seventeen  ladies  and  fourteen  gentlemen  were  $1077, 
and  for  twenty-three  chorus,  ^248 ;  the  mechanics'  or 
stage  hands'  wages  were  ^236;  the  scenic  artist's,  $60; 
the  ushers',  doorkeepers',  &c.,  $88;  the  gas  bill,  $80; 
and  advertising  in  sixteen  papers,  $300.  From  this  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  new  management  was  not  to  be 
ruined  by  extravagance.  The  figures  strike  us  to-day  as 
marvellous.  They  show  what  the  people  of  the  stage 
were  willing  to  do  for  Mr.  Daly  and  for  art ;  and  that  they 
knew  that  his  economies  put  no  money  in  his  own  pocket 
at  the  expense  of  others. 

The  absence  of  Mrs.  Gilbert  and  Mr.  Lewis  from  the 
ranks  this  first  season  causes  one  so  much  regret  that  I 
cannot  forbear  anticipating  a  little  and  giving  this  extract 


322  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

from  a  letter  Mrs.  Tracy  wrote  to  Augustin   the  same 
autumn  from  Buffalo  : 

"I  saw  Mrs.  Gilbert  and  Mr.  Lewis  this  a.m.  They  played 
here  one  week  in  'Engaged'  to  fair  business.  They  both  said 
they  would  like  to  be  with  you  again.  We  talked  about  old 
5th  Avenue  days." 


FIFTH    PERIOD:    1879-1883 


CHAPTER  XXI 

Opening  of  Daly's  Theatre,  September  i8,  1879.  "Love's  Young 
Dream"  and  "Newport."  Miss  Rehan's  debut  in  a  small  singing 
part.  The  quest  for  plays.  Death  of  John  Brougham.  Death 
of  "Count  Joannes."  His  last  letter.  "Divorce."  "Wives," 
by  Bronson  Howard,  from  Moliere.  "An  Arabian  Night."  "Man 
and  Wife."  Mrs.  Gilbert  drops  in  on  Daly.  James  Lewis  re- 
turns. Oakey  Hall  and  the  prohibition  drama.  "Oofty  Gooft." 
"The  Fellers  Wot  Be's  Around."  Owen  Gormley,  the  back-door 
keeper.  Patrick  McCarthy,  night  watchman.  Richard  Redding, 
colored  factotum.  Business  managers.  Mr.  John  Farrington. 
Mr.  John  A.  Duff.  "The  Royal  Middy."  "The  Way  We  Live." 
End  of  the  season.     General  Sherman. 

When  the  doors  were  opened  on  the  night  of  September 
18,  1879,  the  spectators  deemed  the  transformation  of 
the  old  Broadway  Theatre  a  miracle  of  ingenuity  and 
taste.  The  entertainment  was  a  comedietta  in  one 
act  called  "Love's  Young  Dream,"  In  which  Miss  Rehan 
and  Miss  Fielding  appeared  with  Fisher,  Parkes,  Lacy, 
and  Wilkes,  This  was  followed  by  a  comedy  in  three 
acts,  "Newport,"  by  Mrs.  OHve  Logan  Sykes,  in  which 
Miss  Lewis  appeared  with  Davidge,  Leclercq,  Drew, 
Conway,  and  the  whole  company  of  debutantes. 

All  the  young  people  sang.  In  the  first  piece  Miss 
Rehan  had  a  duet  with  Miss  Fielding,  and  Miss  Fielding 
a  duet  with  Lacy,  and  a  romanza.  In  the  second  piece 
the  chorus  had  several  numbers,  and  Miss  Lewis  and  Hart 
Conway  a  musical  programme  of  considerable  length. 
The  entertainment,  a  blending  of  the  dramatic  and 
lyrical,    was    not  voted    a    success.     What   the   audience 

32s 


326  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

carried  away  that  first  night  was  the  memory  of  a 
host  of  bright  young  people,  eager  to  please  and  full  of 
promise. 

Many  plays  were  submitted  to  Daly's  consideration 
at  this  time.  Julian  Alagnus  and  H,  C.  Bunner  (editor 
of  Puck)  offered  a  vaudeville  composed  by  themselves, 
for  which  they  proposed  to  have  music  set  by  Tissington. 
Sara  Stevens,  who  played  Hero  to  the  elder  Wallack's 
Benedick  in  1857,  and  old  women  with  Lester  Wallack  in 
1878,  wished  Mr.  Daly  to  give  matinees  of  a  play  by  John 
Brougham,  "Lenore."  Her  letter  was  written  but  a 
short  time  before  Brougham's  death.  That  most  amiable 
and  talented  of  actors,  who  had  for  nearly  forty  years 
been  a  public  favorite,  quitted  the  stage  this  year  and 
died  in  June,  1880.  An  annuity,  purchased  with  $10,000, 
the  proceeds  of  a  benefit  given  for  him,  was  enjoyed  but 
two  years  before  his  death.  Bronson  Howard  had  left 
with  Daly,  long  before,  an  adaptation  of  two  comedies  of 
Moliere  ("  L'Ecole  des  Femmes  "  and  "  L'Ecole  des  Maris  ") 
which  he  called  "Wives." 

The  present  shadow  of  failure  was  of  course  lightened 
by  gleams  of  humor,  some  of  which  were  furnished  by  a 
grave  epistle  from  the  Count  Joannes  delicately  suggesting 
an  attractive  programme  —  "Richard  HI,"  in  which  he 
said  he  had  played  at  the  Lyceum  to  $1188,  "while 
another  personage  played  the  same  character  on  the  same 
evening,  and  only  a  few  streets  distant,  to  a  beggarly 
$420."  The  letter  omitted  the  fact  that  the  Count's 
great  house  was  composed  of  an  uproarious  crowd  assem- 
bled to  ridicule  his  performance.  This  was  probably 
among  the  last  letters  the  poor  "Count"  ever  penned, 
for  shortly  after  he  died  in  his  room  in  a  small  hotel  on 
Sixth  Avenue.  He  preserved  his  fiery  spirit  to  the  last, 
as  well  as  his  polished  manners.     One  of  his  latest  ex- 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  327 

ploits  was  a  celebration  of  the  centennial  of  Paul  Jones, 
which  he  said  made  him  "troops  of  friends," 

"Divorce"  was  presented  on  October  i,  and  was  so 
well  received  that  it  was  played  altogether  twenty- 
three  times.  Miss  Davenport's  role,  Lu  Ten  Eyck,  was 
first  assigned  to  Miss  Amabel  Jordan  (daughter  of  the  well- 
known  Emily  Thorne  and  of  George  Jordan,  once  the  rival 
of  Lester  Wallack),  but  on  second  thoughts  was  given  to 
one  of  the  most  modest  members  of  the  new  company  — 
Miss  Ada  Rehan  —  who  carried  it  with  a  buoyancy  that 
brought  the  revival  an  unexpected  measure  of  success. 
While  it  was  running,  Bronson  Howard's  "Wives"  was 
rapidly  prepared,  and  on  October  18  was  produced  with 
immediate  success.  Had  it  been  presented  as  the  open- 
ing bill,  it  would  have  made  a  difference  in  the  fortunes 
of  the  season.  Musical  numbers  were  introduced  for 
Miss  Lewis,  and  a  fascinating  chorus  of  Musketeers. 
Howard  wrote  from  London  : 

"My  dear  Daly, 

I  have  been  through  a  variety  of  feelings  during  the  last  few 
weeks  which  I  can  now  laugh  at  —  and  perhaps  I  owe  you  an 
apology  for  some  of  them,  now  that  you  have  brought  'Wives' 
to  a  triumphant  result.  When  I  first  read  your  announcement 
I  tore  what  little  hair  I  have  and  wished  I  had  had  warning  to 
revise  the  piece  after  5  years'  added  experience.  When  I  saw 
the  fuller  programme  I  pranced  around  under  the  impression 
that  you  were  doing  up  the  piece  in  some  modern  shape ;  and 
where  under  the  sun  the  '20  young  ladies'  could  come  in  for  a 
chorus  ( .^)  puzzled  and  troubled  me.  I  am  glad  I  did  not  meet 
you  just  then  on  a  dark  night  in  a  side  street.  Then  I  saw  no 
mention  of  Moliere  in  the  advertisement,  and  I  needed  all  my 
Christian  training  to  respect  the  catechism.  At  last  I  saw  an 
announcement  with  Moliere  in,  and  saying  the  scene  was  in  the 
time  of  Louis  XIV.     I  calmed  down  a  little.     Then  the  full 


328  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

announcement  of  the  last  day  made  me  still  more  serene.  I  re- 
ceived the  press  notices  yesterday,  and  of  course  I  am  now  com- 
placently rejoicing  in  the  evident  success.  I  am  very  glad 
that  you  credited  Mr.  Williams  with  the  songs  and  choruses, 
for,  while  I  dare  say  they  are  good  for  the  popular  effect  I  am 
pleased  not  to  be  responsible  for  them,  as  I  might  meet  Moliere's 
ghost  walking  through  a  churchyard  some  night  and  he'd  get 
the  best  of  me.  Accept  my  thanks  for  the  manner  in  which 
you  must  have  put  the  piece  on. 

Sincerely  yours 

Bronson  Howard." 

"Wives"  was  played  forty-eight  times,  and  then  re- 
placed by  one  of  those  comedies  adapted  from  the  German 
which  afterwards  became  identified  with  Daly's  Theatre. 
This  was  Von  Moser's  "Haroun  al  Raschid,"  produced 
December  i,  1879,  under  the  name  of  "An  Arabian 
Night,  or  Haroun  al  Raschid  and  his  Mother-in-law." 
It  was  greatly  enjoyed,  and  played  seventy-six  times. 

The  company  meanwhile  was  kept  in  training  for  more 
important  work  by  the  revival  of  "Man  and  Wife"  for 
matinees  with  Miss  Blythe  as  Anne,  Miss  Jordan  as 
Blanche,  Mrs.  Poole  as  Hester  Dethridge,  Morton  as 
Geoffrey,  Drew  as  Arnold,  and  Leclercq  as  Sir  Patrick. 
As  in  the  case  of  "Divorce,"  the  only  representative  of 
the  original  cast  was  Davidge,  who  repeated  his  inimitable 
Bishopriggs. 

In  December  our  old  friend  Mrs.  Gilbert,  on  her  way 
through  New  York  with  Abbey's  company,  called  to  see 
her  former  manager.  It  was  a  great  meeting  and  out- 
pouring of  souls,  and  the  result  appears  in  the  following 

letter : 

"January  10',  1880. 
My  dear  Mr.  Daly 

It  is  perfectly  understood  on  my  part  that  I  am  engaged 
with  you  for  your  next  season  of  1880  and  1881  at  seventy  dollars 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  329 

per  week  and  I  can  assure  you  the  thought  of  being  with  you 
again  gives  me  a  great  deal  of  pleasure. 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert." 

From  the  time  that  "Grandma"  had  her  interview,  she 
resolved  (and  she  told  Mr.  Daly  so)  that  James  Lewis 
should  return  to  the  fold.  Her  determination  resulted 
in  his  engagement  for  the  next  season. 

A  matinee  was  given  by  Mr.  Daly  in  aid  of  the  Seventh 
Regiment  fund  for  furnishing  its  new  armory  on  Park 
Avenue,  which  was  now,  December,  1879,  opened  with  a 
fair,  to  which  everybody  contributed  with  the  greatest 
good  will.  The  thanks  of  the  Board  of  Managers  was 
conveyed  to  Mr.  Daly  by  Colonel  Emmons  Clark. 

In  the  face  of  the  late  failure  of  "L'Assommoir,"  the  en- 
thusiastic Oakey  Hall,  now  engaged  on  The  World,  wrote  to 
Mr.  Daly  twice  that  he  "could  not  resist  the  feeling  that 
a  moral  domestic  drama,  based  on  the  vices  of  drunken- 
ness and  gambling,  would  be  a  go  if  produced  during  the 
Lenten  season  to  touch  the  society  people  already  stirred 
by  the  'moderate  drinking'  movement."  The  manager, 
suffering  from  his  late  experience,  found  it  quite  easy 
himself  to  resist  that  feeling, 

Louis  James  wrote  from  Indiana  for  a  strong  emotional 
play  for  Miss  Marie  Wainwright  and  himself.  James,  as 
we  know,  was  the  original  Yorick,  and  surpassed  in 
force  and  pathos  Barrett,  who  undertook  the  part  later. 
With  serious  appreciation  of  his  calling  he  could  have  gone 
far,  but  he  was  fatally  lacking  in  that  quahty;  and  we 
know  that  dramatic  art  rewards  only  earnest  votaries. 
Another  correspondent  of  that  time  was  the  distressed  but 
undaunted  adventurer  "Oofty  Gooft"  (Gus  Phillips), 
who    was    constantly    struggling    with    the    royalties    of 


330  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"Under  the  Gaslight."  At  various  times  he  wrote:  "I 
send  on  to-day  per  express  one  hundred  dollars  in  hard 
money  —  hard  to  get,  hard  to  keep,  and  hard  to  part 
with.  Yours  for  sure."  "I  am  broke  but  smiling." 
"Will  try  and  make  you  happy  as  soon  as  possible.  Busi- 
ness very  tart.  Yours  regretfully!"  "Had  to  borrow 
money  to  get  out  of  town.  Am  obliged  to  inquire  of  my 
friends  the  time  of  day.     Oofty." 

I  may  properly  mention  here  "The  Fellers  Wot  Be's 
Around,"  a  supposed  coterie  of  quaint  and  appreciative 
habitues  of  the  upper  gallery,  who,  since  1855,  had  been 
patrons  of  the  famous  New  York  theatres,  had  con- 
tinued their  attendance  through  the  old  Burton  and 
Wallack  days  to  those  of  both  Fifth  Avenues,  and 
had  now  followed  the  fortunes  of  Daly  to  his  new  home. 
These  modest  visitors  never  revealed  their  identity  to 
the  manager,  but  after  important  productions  usually 
wrote  him  a  friendly  review,  nothing  extenuating,  how- 
ever, which  he  never  failed  to  show  me.  It  was  written 
on  an  elaborate  sheet  of  note-paper  with  a  filet  border  of 
red  and  blue  lines,  a  monogram  at  the  top,  and  colored 
triangular  spaces  in  the  upper  corners  with  the  legend, 
"1855-1879;  Compliments  of  the  fellers  wot  be's  around. 
Memorandum."  They  did  not  hesitate  to  make  known 
their  wants,  too,  as  appears  by  a  communication  apropos 
of  a  scarcity  of  programmes  on  the  first  night  of  "Wives"  : 

"To  persons  attending  a  theatrical  performance  for  instruction 
or  amusement,  two  things  occur  to  us  as  being  essential :  A 
good  play  and  —  a  '  Bill  of  the  Play.'  The  first  of  these  you  pro- 
vided on  Saturday  night,  the  latter  you  did  not.  To  us  who  are 
old  'rounders'  and  familiar  with  the  voice,  gait  and  peculiarities 
of  most  of  the  actors  and  actresses  on  the  American  Stage,  a 
bill  is  not  indispensable  to  enable  us  to  recognize  the  performers, 
except  at  your  theatres,  where  you  have  provided  so  many  new 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  331 

faces  this  season.  But  then,  we  keep  a  file  of  all  'Bills  of  the 
Play'  —  We  were  unable  to  procure  one  on  the  first  night  of 
'  Wives.'  Therefore,  knowing  how  obliging  you  have  been  to  us 
in  the  past,  we  make  bold  to  tax  your  generosity  once  more, 
and  request  that  you  will  kindly  furnish  us  with  a  copy  if  possible 
—  Of  course  we  shall  see  'Wives'  again,  and  then  we  can  get  a 
'Bill'  —  but  it  will  not  be  a  'first  night'  one. 

Trusting  you  will  pardon  our  temerity, 
we  are  still 
'The  Fellers  Wot  Be's  Around.' 
To  Augustin  Daly 

New  York,  Oct.  20,  1879." 

It  was  in  this  season  that  a  certain  official,  who  had  been 
celebrated  by  no  less  a  person  than  Mark  Twain,  first 
loomed  portentously  upon  all  who  approached  the  stage 
door  of  Daly's.  This  was  the  redoubtable  "Owen," 
whose  last  name  almost  nobody  but  the  manager  and  the 
treasurer  knew.  Mr.  Gormley  was  an  Irishman  of 
enormous  strength  and  peaceable  habits,  formerly  stage 
doorkeeper  in  A.  T.  Stewart's  old  theatre  where  "Under 
the  Gaslight"  and  "Griffith  Gaunt"  were  played;  he 
applied  to  Mr.  Daly  for  a  place  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  the 
new  venture.  Owen  could  take  an  ordinary  man  under 
each  arm  and  walk  off  with  them.  It  is  related  of  him 
that  once  at  Stewart's  old  theatre,  when  it  became 
necessary  to  move  a  long  "box  sign"  which  spanned  the 
wide  sidewalk  from  the  building  to  the  curb,  and  four 
men  staggered  under  the  weight  of  one  end  of  it,  Owen 
picked  up  and  carried  the  other  end  with  the  greatest  ease. 
He  had  a  weakness,  of  course  (as  what  strong  man  has 
not."*),  and  possessed  quite  a  collection  of  documents 
certifying  in  due  form  that  he  had  "taken  the  pledge." 
For  twenty  years  almost  every  dramatist  worthy  of  the 
name    knew   Owen.     He   was    uniformly    courteous,    but 


332  THE   LIFE  OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

his  incredulity  with  regard  to  alleged  appointments  with 
Mr.  Daly  grew  to  be  a  painful  idiosyncrasy.  He  suspected 
cards  and  took  no  messages.  It  got  to  be  so  that  Mr. 
Daly  himself  lived  in  anxiety  for  fear  of  forgetting  to 
notify  Owen  of  expected  callers.  Howard  Paul  wound  up 
a  business  letter  to  Mr.  Daly  with  this  flattering  reference 
to  Owen  : 

"English  stage-doorkeepers  are  the  devil  to  deal  with,  but 
I  think  your  man  captures  the  cake  —  if  not  the  card." 

Apropos  of  the  maze  that  had  to  be  traversed  from  the 
stage  entrance  to  reach  the  manager's  office,  the  expe- 
rience of  a  correspondent  of  the  Detroit  Post  is  related 
by  himself : 

"Inquiring  for  Daly,  they  said  he  was  in  his  office.  I  got  a 
guide  and  started  for  it,  for  though  I  had  been  there  before 
nobody  should  be  so  foolhardy  as  to  try  to  find  Augustin  Daly's 
office  without  a  robust  and  intelligent  guide,  and,  if  possible,  he 
should  also  have  an  alpenstock  and  a  St.  Bernard  dog.  We 
started  about  7.30.  It  is  harder  than  it  is  to  find  the  editor  of 
Puck,  and  is  somewhat  like  going  under  the  Hudson  River  in 
the  tunnel.  We  went  around  the  block,  entered  a  harmless- 
looking  door,  threaded  an  alley,  entered  another  door,  stepped 
over  a  tremendous  dog,  went  through  a  little  closet  with  seven 
people  in  it,  entered  a  hall  at  the  other  end  of  which  were  illu- 
minated folding  doors,  exited  here  and  sprang  up  a  flight  of 
steps  to  a  landing,  down  more  steps,  past  13  dressing  rooms, 
past  some  theatre  flies,  over  some  books  on  the  floor,  under 
something  about  three  feet  high  that  looked  like  the  mast  of  a 
ship  fallen  down,  through  a  sort  of  trap  door  at  the  left  into  a 
dark  room.  'You  had  better  go  slow  here,'  remarked  the  guide. 
'Wait  till  I  step  and  open  the  door.'  I  presently  followed  a 
gleam  through  a  sort  of  work-shop,  where  I  fell  over  a  saw- 
horse.  In  another  stairway  I  saw  some  Chinese  lanterns  and 
suits  of  armor.     We  went  through  six  more  rooms  and  up  some 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  333 

stairs,  and  I  was  just  regretting  that  I  hadn't  brought  my 
lunch  w.th  me  when  the  guide  knocked  on  a  door  and  we  were 
adm.tted  by  Mr.  Daly  himself.     I  know  now  what  makes  hi 
plots  so  mtr,cate.     But  what  bothers  me  when  I  think  of  the 
labynnth  .s  that  I  don't  remember  crossing  the  street  anywhere." 

Not  less  devoted  than  Owen,  and  altogether  exetnplary 
through  all  the  years,  was  "Patrick"  (McCarthy)  the 
prince  of  night  watchmen.  He  it  was  who  came  to  my 
brother  at  the  Grand  Opera  House  for  a  job,  and  remained 
ever  after,  to  be  one  of  his  most  esteemed  friends  and  aids 
and  one  of  the  faithful,  like  "Owen,"  remembered  in 
Augustm  s  w,ll.  But  the  "character"  of  the  establish- 
ment was  undoubtedly  "Richard"  (Redding),  certainly 
a  descendant  of  some  grand  vizier,  chancellor,  or  diplomat 
ot  the  Congo,  whose  duties  were  the  handling  of  stage 
furn.ture  and  bric-a-brac,  errands,  sweeping  and  cleaning- 

.r mT  °'^^*''°"''  "^^tly  got  up,  he  acted  as  butl"; 

^  I.  u"?™  '■°°"-  ^''-f"'"-  ^^«  correspondence, 
and  although  discouraged  by  Mr.  Daly  would  continue  to 
mflict  ,t  upon  his  "good  boss."  The  subjects  of  his 
epistles  ranged  from  an  application  for  an  advance  of 
^5  because  he  had  "a  tuf  wife  to  deal  with"  and  required 
the  money  before  he  could  go  out  on  the  road,"  to 
numerous  misunderstandings  with  his  fellow  employees 
(white)  whose  dictation  he  resented,  and  family  concerns 
ot  the  highest  importance,  which  called  at  one  time  for  the 
desperate  expedient  described  in  the  following  letter: 

"Mr.  Daly. 

I  would  like  you  to  let  me  off  for  about  an  hour.     I  want  to  go 

and  secure  a  room  for  myself  as  I  intend  to  Live  alone  the 

balance  of  my  days.     It  comes  to  this  after  my  working  over 

wenty   two   years    to    make   my  family  comfortable   at   one 

time  I  had  ,0  children  now  there  is  only  two  Left  &  they  are 


334  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

both  Girls  &  growe  up  but  of  no  use  to  me  Whatever.  I  have 
clear  proff  to  show  where  the  fault  is  but  will  omit  it  at  present, 
I  wish  to  be  able  in  their  absence  to  bid  good  buy  to  the  traitors 
tomorrow  night  in  this  way  I  want  3  passes  to  give  them  to  come 
&  see  the  show  tomorrow  night  then  I  only  want  one  hour  to  go 
home  &  get  my  trunk  &  a  few  things  all  on  the  quiet,  this  I 
must  do  sure  without  delay  &  I  ask  for  $3.00  to  help  me  out  of 
this  bad  fix  that  a  villain  has  got  me  in. 

Your  most  obediant 

servant 
Richard." 

Richard  ultimately,  many  years  after,  died  in  the  bosom 
of  his  family. 

It  was  in  this  season  that  Mr.  Daly  attached  to  his 
fortunes  Mr.  John  Farrington,  who,  after  serving  in  this 
theatre  for  many  years,  was  taken  to  London  and  re- 
mained as  business  manager  in  Daly's  Theatre  there, 
until  his  death  in  191 2.  James  Tait  oversaw  the  mechani- 
cal part  of  the  stage  and  John  Moore  was  stage  manager. 
Mr.  Fred  Williams,  an  expert  writer  of  lyrics,  assisted  in 
the  musical  features  which  were  now  to  be  identified  with 
this  establishment. 

The  presiding  genius  of  the  front  of  the  house  was,  of 
course,  Mr.  John  A.  Duff,  whose  portly  and  commanding 
figure  presided  over  the  foyer,  welcomed  the  members 
of  the  press,  and  discouraged  with  a  stony  look  applicants 
for  free  admissions.  A  dapper  person  once  cheekily 
approached  the  rail  over  which  Mr.  DuflF  was  leaning 
according  to  custom,  and  said  he  supposed  that  "pro- 
fessionals" were  welcome.  "What  kind  of  profes- 
sionals.'"' queried  Mr.  DuflF.  "This  kind,"  said  the 
cheeky  individual,  and  leaping  from  the  step,  he  turned 
a  magnificent  back  somersault  into  the  lobby,  and  then 
without  waiting  to  see  the  eflFect  vanished  into  the  street ! 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  335 

Mr.  Duff's  happiness  was  to  see  an  eager  stream  of  people 
passing  through  the  gate.  When  only  a  thin  stream 
trickled  through,  to  a  play  doomed  to  failure,  he  always 
repeated  with  conviction,  "They'll  come  yet!" 

After  the  long  run  of  "An  Arabian  Night,"  "The  Royal 
Middy"  was  produced  on  January  29,  1880.  This  was 
an  adaptation  of  Richard  Genee's  comic  opera,  the  "See- 
Kadett,"  which  had  had  an  immense  success  in  Germany. 
Miss  Lewis  was  Fanchette  the  Zingara,  who,  assuming  the 
disguise  of  a  royal  midshipman,  led  as  brilliant  a  band  of 
marine  boy-warriors  as  were  ever  marshalled  on  the 
quarter-deck  of  a  theatre.  Eighty-six  performances  were 
given  of  this  comedy-opera. 

On  Saturday  night.  May  10,  Mr.  Daly  produced  his 
adaptation  from  the  German  of  L'Arronge,  "Die  Wohltha- 
tige  Frauen,"  to  which  he  gave  the  name  "The  Way  We 
Live."  In  it  Mr.  Drew  and  Miss  Rehan  were  cast  for 
the  first  time  in  comedy  parts  of  the  kind  they  afterwards 
made  famous.  It  was  a  satire  upon  those  society  ladies 
who  engage  in  charitable  enterprises  for  worldly  reasons, 
to  the  neglect  of  private  duties  —  not  a  very  novel  theme, 
but  easily  adaptable  to  any  modern  community.  "The 
Way  We  Live"  was  played  twenty-one  times,  and  the 
season  closed  on  May  31  with  "The  Royal  Middy" 
for  the  matinee  and  "An  Arabian  Night"  in  the  evening; 
the  company  —  divided  into  two  parts,  dramatic  and 
musical  —  departing  for  a  tour  through  the  principal 
cities  while  the  theatre  was  let  to  the  Salsbury  Trouba- 
dours with  their  pretty  interlude  "The  Brook." 

During  this  season  of  seven  months  and  a  half,  the  new 
theatre  had  but  one  failure  (the  opening  bill)  and  three 
unquestioned  successes.  With  an  established  theatre  such 
an  experience  would  have  resulted  in  a  handsome  balance 
at  the  banker's  after  paying  all  expenses,  including  the 


336  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

costly  Louis  XIV  costuming  of  "Wives,"  and  the  gorgeous 
seventeenth  century  mounting  of  "The  Royal  Middy." 
But  the  new  Daly's  was  not  an  established  theatre  ;  it  was  a 
struggling  beginner,  and  so  the  pecuniary  balance  of  the 
season  was  on  the  wrong  side.  My  brother's  anxieties, 
of  course,  were  very  great ;  but  his  eyes  must  have  opened 
wide  when  he  was  now  oflFered  thirty  thousand  dollars 
for  the  balance  of  his  lease  !  The  offer  came  through  the 
lessor's  agent,  Mr.  Dexter.     It  was  declined. 

An  exceptionally  hot  summer  affected  the  tour  of  the 
company  and  of  all  travelling  entertainments.  Of  Boston, 
he  writes  that  the  circus  and  baby  elephant  gave  the 
musical  company  its  quietus  in  the  last  week.  In  Chicago 
the  manager  met  his  friend  General  Sherman,  just  in 
from  his  headquarters  at  Washington,  who  wrote  : 

"Dear  Daly 

Am  just  in.  Will  take  great  pleasure  in  seeing  your  new  play 
Arabian  Night  —  and,  better  still,  your  own  dear  self.  I  am 
just  starting  out,  but  will  fill  the  box  at  8  or  shortly  after." 


CHAPTER  XXII 

The  Season  of  1880-1881.  "Tiote"  a  failure.  Reasons  assigned  for 
Daly's  want  of  success.  "Our  First  Families."  "Needles  and 
Pins"  the  first  hit  of  the  season.  "Zanina"  and  the  Nautch  girls. 
Digby  Bell.  "Cinderella  at  School"  a  favorite  in  spite  of  the 
musical  critics.  A  debutante's  expenses.  Salaries  doubled. 
End  of  the  season.  "All  the  Rage."  "Old  Women  of  the  Stage." 
Green  Room  rules.  Play  pirate  ejected  from  the  theatre.  Books 
left  over  from  the  sale  of  1878,  disposed  of. 

A  MELODRAMA,  "Tiotc,"  the  scene  laid  in  Wales,  and 
introducing  a  romantic  gypsy  element,  opened  the  next 
season  on  August  15,  1880.  At  least  five  new  engage- 
ments were  made  for  it,  notably  Miss  Fanny  Morant,  Miss 
Emily  Rigl,  and  Miss  Virginia  Brooks,  a  graduate  of  the 
Brooklyn  Amaranth  Society.  Miss  Rehan  was  Isopel 
the  gypsy,  and  Mr.  Drew  the  wandering  Jack  Ferrers. 
Some  reminiscence  of  George  Borrow  and  the  fleeting 
vision  of  his  heroine  of  the  dingle  may  be  discerned  here. 
Notwithstanding  brilliant  acting  and  scenery  and  novel 
comedy  touches,  and  the  cordial  and  appreciative  notices 
of  the  press,  the  play  succumbed  to  hot  weather  and  that 
undefinable  something  that  will  so  often  baffle  theatrical 
hopes.  One  writer,  unable  to  understand  this  failure, 
suddenly  discovered  that  it  was  due  to  Mr.  Daly's 
managerial  autocracy  and  the  public  dislike  of  Caesars  and 
Napoleons,  as  Instanced  by  the  recent  defeat  of  General 
Grant  at  the  nominating  convention  In  Chicago.  Daly, 
It  was  alleged,  conducted  his  theatres  to  suit  himself, 
as  If  his  motto  were  not  "We  study  to  please,"  but  "I 
do  as  I  please."     But  a  very  patent  reason  for  the  falling 

337 


338  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

off  of  patronage  might  have  been  discovered  in  the  absence 
of  sprightly  little  Miss  Catherine  Lewis,  who  after  her 
successive  successes  in  "An  Arabian  Night,"  "Wives," 
and  "The  Royal  Middy,"  turned  into  a  star  and  took  her 
attractive  personality  to  a  theatre  down  the  street.  Mrs. 
Gilbert  and  James  Lewis  made  their  debut  in  "Our  First 
Families,"  by  Edgar  Fawcett.  Fawcett's  comedy  ran 
for  nearly  six  weeks,  and  was  followed  by  "Needles  and 
Pins,"  in  which  Miss  Rehan,  Mr.  Drew,  Mrs.  Gilbert,  and 
Mr.  Lewis  were  first  recognized  as  the  famous  quartet 
which  for  so  many  seasons  endeared  Daly's  Theatre  to 
the  public.  The  play  was  an  adaptation  of  Rosen's 
"Starke  Mitteln"  or  "Strong  Measures,"  and  made  the 
first  distinct  hit  of  the  season,  its  run  of  a  hundred  nights 
being  suspended  only  because  Mr.  Daly  was  under  con- 
tract to  introduce  in  a  new  opera  a  remarkable  novelty, 
a  troupe  of  Nautch  dancers  from  India.  They  were 
brought  over  by  Mr.  Harry  W.  French  (author  of  "Art 
and  Artists")  ;  not  without  difficulty,  however,  as  he 
had  to  obtain  government  permission.  The  troupe  and 
their  attendants  were  finally  gathered  together  and  sent 
by  water  to  Southampton,  where  they  took  the  North 
German  Lloyd  for  New  York.  Mr.  French  wrote  to  Mr. 
Daly,  impressing  the  necessity  of  having  arrangements 
made  for  their  comfort  upon  their  arrival,  in  order  to  gain 
"a  strong  hold  upon  their  hearts,  for  they  are  like  so 
many  three  year  old  babies."  There  were  magicians  in 
the  troupe  who  were  accompanied  by  their  cobras,  and 
French  wrote  of  the  latter : 

"One  of  them  is  a  little  seedy  and  his  charmer  is  very  low- 
spirited,  but  we  have  hopes,  as  he  still  takes  his  regular  rations. 
The  rest  are  enjoying  the  voyage  as  heartily  as  possible  under 
the  circumstances,  smuggled  in  a  bag,  which  is  smuggled  in  a 
box.     I    hope   some   Custom-house   officer   will    put    his    hand 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  339 

in  there.  I  think  he  will  pass  the  rest  of  the  chests.  ...  I 
have  made  up  the  enclosed  memo,  of  the  sort  of  accommodations 
the  Hindoos  will  require.  The  most  important  thing  is  steady- 
heat.  There  should  be  three  rooms,  or  a  large  room  with  three 
apartments,  one  for  the  women  to  sleep  in,  one  for  the  men  to 
sleep  in,  and  one  for  both  to  eat,  cook  and  sit  in.  They  will 
want  simple  cot  beds  in  a  row  and  plenty  of  blankets,  and 
some  sort  of  cheap  blankets  or  mats  to  sit  on.  In  the  large 
room  give  them  a  large,  old-fashioned  Franklin  stove  with  three 
large  bricks  to  arrange  on  the  hearth  instead  of  andirons,  to 
cook ;  and  plenty  of  rice  and  curry  powder  and  vegetables  and 
flour.  Most  of  them  will  eat  mutton  too,  but  never  pork  or 
beef.  They  must  never  come  in  contact  with  either  in  any 
shape  or  form.  They  drink  tea,  coffee,  water,  and  are  partic- 
ularly fond  of  milk.  They  want  a  few  porcelain-lined  pots  and 
a  few  spoons  for  cooking,  but  simply  plates  and  cups,  as  they 
eat  with  their  fingers.  Another  very  essential  thing  is  a  large 
sink  of  some  sort  in  each  bedroom  into  which  they  can  get  and 
spatter  themselves  all  over  with  water  every  day." 

Mr.  Daly  hired  an  entire  upper  floor  of  Bangs'  restau- 
rant, a  building  directly  opposite  the  theatre,  and  fitted 
it  up  for  their  use.  They  were  delighted  with  it  and  with 
the  opportunity  to  sit  at  the  windows  and  look  out  on 
Broadway.  On  the  evening  of  January  18,  1881,  they 
appeared  for  the  first  time  before  an  American  audience 
in  an  opera  by  Genee,  adapted  and  produced  under  the 
title  of  "Zanina,  or  the  Rover  of  Cambaye,"  in  which 
Miss  Joyce,  Miss  Rehan,  Miss  Fielding,  Lewis,  Digby 
Bell,  and  John  Brant  appeared.  Genee's  music  was  of  a 
high  order.  There  were  remarkable  scenic  effects,  one 
being  a  tropical  tornado. 

This  was  the  first  appearance  of  Digby  Bell  with  Mr. 
Daly,  and  his  fine  voice  and  natural  comic  powers  were 
immediately  appreciated.  James  Lewis  had  a  congenial 
burlesque  part,  and  he  and  Bell  made  the  uproarious  fun 


340  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

of  the  third  act  in  the  startling  disguises  required  by  the 
plot. 

The  snake-charmers  were  introduced  in  the  first  scene, 
a  public  square,  handling  their  deadly  pets  and  attended 
by  an  alert  mongoose,  which  darted  here  and  there, 
ready  to  pounce  upon  any  refractory  or  evasive  reptile 
and  bring  it  to  subjection.  The  magicians  appeared  in 
the  second  scene,  an  Indian  bungalow,  and  after  knife- 
throwing  and  other  feats,  gave  the  famous  Indian  bas- 
ket trick.  A  little  lad,  about  twelve  years  old  and  per- 
haps five  feet  high,  stepped  into  a  round  basket  eighteen 
inches  in  diameter  and  less  than  a  foot  in  height,  and 
stooped  over  until  his  hands  touched  his  feet.  A  shawl 
was  then  thrown  over  him,  and  this  shawl  was  seen 
gradually  to  subside  as  if  the  boy  were  gradually  melting 
into  the  basket.  Upon  the  shawl  being  withdrawn,  only 
the  basket  was  visible ;  and  its  cover  being  replaced,  one 
of  the  men  took  a  long  sword  and  passed  it  several  times 
through  the  side  of  the  basket  until  the  point  showed  on 
the  opposite  side.  Then  the  shawl  was  again  spread  over 
the  basket,  was  violently  agitated,  and  then  thrown  aside 
by  the  boy,  who  stood  up  smiling  before  the  spectators. 

The  entrance  of  the  Nautch  dancers  was  now  announced 
by  music  —  a  Hindoo  orchestra  seated  in  the  rear.  As 
to  the  dance,  there  was  no  exhibition  of  agility,  and  no 
pretence  of  figure  about  it.  To  the  monotonous  thrum- 
ming and  twanging  of  the  native  musicians  went  on  the 
unvarying  shuffle,  shuffle,  shuffle  of  the  bare  feet,  the 
graceful  swaying  of  the  body,  and  waving  of  the  jewelled 
arms.  The  girls  were  comely  (except  the  one  with  the 
nose  ring,  which  was  fastened  to  one  nostril),  and  their 
eyes  were  humid,  lustrous,  and  full  of  curiosity.  The 
ebony  lady  of  the  group  was  the  only  one  that  smiled  and 
seemed  to  enjoy  the  novel  experience. 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  341 

It  happened  that  the  winter  of  1880-1881,  the  greater 
part  of  which  the  Nautch  girls  spent  in  America,  was  one 
of  uncommon  cold  that  set  in  early  and  lasted  long,  and 
was  very  trying  to  the  young  women.  They  did  not  stir 
out  before  their  debut  except  to  the  theatre,  when  they 
sat  on  the  floor  of  one  of  the  private  boxes,  hidden  by  the 
gilded  lattice  front,  through  which  they  peered  at  the 
young  girls  dancing  in  the  ballet  in  "Needles  and  Pins" 
(a  charming  measure) ;  they  were  fascinated  by  the  vigor, 
swiftness,  and  grace  of  the  Americans.  They  said  to  Mr. 
Daly  through  their  interpreter,  "We  can  do  nothing  like 
that." 

After  the  debut,  my  brother's  wife  and  mine  enter- 
tained the  visitors  at  our  homes.  The  demeanor  of  the 
Hindu  women  could  not  be  surpassed  for  refinement, 
ease,  and  naturalness.  Their  bearing  was  that  of  persons 
accustomed  to  society,  and  the  grace  of  their  movements 
was  conspicuous  in  response  to  every  little  attention. 
Their  intelligence  was  such  that  without  the  aid  of 
language  our  ladies  appeared  to  be  able  to  carry  on  an 
animated  interchange  of  ideas  with  them.  They  re- 
mained in  America  until  the  end  of  the  run  of  "Zanina" 
(a  month),  when  they  returned  to  their  native  country  — 
all  but  one,  who  succumbed  to  the  hardness  of  the  winter, 
and  died  in  this  country. 

On  March  5,  1881,  "Cinderella  at  School"  was  pro- 
duced. Mr.  Woolson  Morse  came  to  Daly  with  the 
manuscript  of  a  musical  play  suggested  by  Robertson's 
"School,"  which,  in  turn,  had  been  taken  from  the 
German.  Morse  was  without  musical  education,  but 
carried  in  his  head  a  number  of  pretty  tunes.  Mollen- 
hauer,  the  leader  of  the  orchestra,  put  the  composer's 
ideas  into  form  and  did  the  harmonizing  and  orchestrating. 

The  bright  young  women  of  the  company  who  were 


342  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

working  hard  to  deserve  promotion  knew  that  the 
manager  could  always  be  reached  by  a  straightforward 
letter.  Here  is  the  budget  of  a  debutante  when  the  ques- 
tion of  engagements  for  the  next  season  came  up  : 

"My  dear  Mr.  Daly 

Your  good  opinion  makes  me  very  happy.  I  feel  quite  safe 
in  trusting  my  art  future  with  you.  ...  I  hate  to  talk  about 
money,  detestable  stuff!  but  I  must.  I  have  managed  to 
scramble  through  this  season  with  the  aid  of  what  I  saved 
from  last ;  that  fund  is  now  pretty  much  exhausted  &  I  am  living 
entirely  on  my  salary.  I  will  give  you  a  fair  estimate  of  my  liv- 
ing expenses : 

Board  and  room  $io. 

Laundress  1. 50 

Car  fare  .90 

Lunch  during  rehearsal  2. 

Escort  home  at  night  1.50 

Toilet  articles  i. 

$16.90  total 
Allow  a  fair  margin  for  proper  clothing,  dentistry,  travelling 
expenses  and  board  during  summer's  rest  and  you  will  have  my 
lowest  terms,  of  which   I   am  gladly  willing  to  give  you   the 
benefit. 

Sincerely 


Like  most  of  the  young  debutantes,  the  writer  had 
begun  at  $15  and  was  now  getting  ^20.  It  ought  of 
course  to  be  noted  that  all  the  original  salaries  had  been 
increased,  and  those  of  the  young  principals  like  Miss 
Rehan  and  Mr.  Drew  were  doubled.  The  elders,  too, 
who  had  made  such  concessions  at  the  beginning,  had  to 
be  satisfied.  Looking  back  upon  this  period,  it  is  delight- 
ful to  know  that,  through  all  his  distresses  and  disappoint- 
ments, my  brother  gave  affectionate  care  to  all  who  were 


THE    LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  343 

dependent  upon  him  not  only  for  the  daily  wage,  but 
for  what  was  infinitely  more  precious,  thoughtfulness  and 
consideration  : 

"September  28"  1880. 
Dear  Governor 

Just  a  line  to  thank  you  for  all  your  kindness  and  care  of  me 
during  our  Tour,  and  when  I  say  I  thank  you  I  mean  all  and  more 
than  that  word  implies. 

I  know  I  was  a  nuisance  many  times  and  felt  it  keenly,  but 
I  tried  not  to  bore  you  any  more  than  I  could  help. 

Yours  sincerely 
Grandma." 

The  writer,  Mrs.  Gilbert,  was  one  of  the  more  effective 
of  the  persons  in  "Cinderella,"  and  as  Miss  Zenohia 
Tropics,  head  mistress  of  the  "Papyrus  Seminary  for 
Young  Ladies,"  marshalled  her  fun-loving  scholars  not 
only  with  Amazonian  firmness,  but  with  a  terpsichorean 
grace  which  had  no  equal.  As  for  Lewis,  he  was  a  figure 
that  might  have  stepped  out  of  Rowlandson's  eccentric 
drawings. 

Poor  Morse's  attempt  at  musical  composition  was 
hammered  dreadfully  by  the  musical  critics  of  the  great 
daihes,  and  that  kept  many  people  away,  but  the  play 
as  a  play  was  such  a  good  piece  of  fun,  carried  off  with  such 
a  wealth  of  beauty,  youth,  and  spirit,  that  it  was  pre- 
sented no  less  than  sixty-five  times ;  not  to  large  houses, 
nor  even  full  ones  ;  but  the  manager  was  resolved  to  give 
it  the  whole  remainder  of  the  regular  season. 

The  season  closed  on  April  30,  1881,  and  the  house  was 
given  over  to  W.  D.  Eaton's  comedy,  "All  the  Rage." 

A  letter  from  Lawrence  Hutton  this  season  says  that 
he  is  delighted  to  think  that  Mr.  Daly  contemplates 
seriously  a  book  on  the  "Old  Women"  (of  the  stage)  — 
an  "Old  Women"  series  to  be  got  up  in  size  and  shape 


344  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

somewhat  after  the  style  of  the  "EngHsh  Men  of  Letters," 
and  that  he  hopes  they  are  really  to  have  the  benefit  of 
Mr.  Daly's  pen.  The  manager's  pen  just  then  was  em- 
ployed on  several  tasks  ;  one,  a  letter  to  a  brother  manager 
detected  in  tempting  one  of  the  company  to  leave, 
suggesting  that  he  give  notice  in  advance  what  particular 
performer  he  covets,  and  receive  authoritative  information 
of  the  individual's  pay,  so  that  the  professional  market 
may  not  be  unduly  and  unnecessarily  inflated.  Another 
letter  was  to  Mr.  Elbridge  T.  Gerry,  President  of  the 
Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children,  express- 
ing the  opinion  that  a  proposed  statute  which  interfered 
with  the  discretion  exercised  by  that  Society,  in  regard 
to  permitting  the  appearance  of  children  on  the  stage, 
was  not  called  for ;  the  Society  being  entirely  competent 
to  deal  with  every  case.  Another  composition  was  a 
notice  posted  in  the  Green  Room  explaining  that  the 
manager  was  compelled  with  regret  to  add  a  new  fine  to 
those  already  incorporated  in  the  rules  of  the  theatre, 
"for  unwarrantably  loud  laughter,  singing,  or  talking  in 
the  dressing  rooms,"  and  adding  that  "quiet  admonitions, 
gentle  warnings,  and  kind  words  go  unheeded."  Doubt- 
less, when  the  light-hearted  debutantes  gathered  at 
night,  their  interchange  of  ideas  became  too  audible.  I 
believe  that  no  addition  to  the  treasury  was  effected  by 
this  new  measure,  and  nobody  resigned.  Still  another  em- 
ployment for  Mr.  Daly's  pen  was  a  letter  to  the  papers  in 
reply  to  criticism  of  his  right  to  eject  from  the  theatre  a 
person  found  surreptitiously  taking  notes  of  the  music  of 
"The  Royal  Middy."  The  ushers  deprived  the  culprit 
of  the  notes  he  had  taken,  returned  him  the  price  of  his 
ticket,  and  showed  him  the  door.  He  threatened  a  suit 
for  damages,  but  as  the  manager  acted  within  his  rights, 
nothing   came   of   the   incident   but    newspaper    articles. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  345 

Mn  A.  Oakey  Hail,  who  was  then  writing  for  the  press 
took  up  the  managerial  defence  and  quoted  the  legal 
authorities  to  sustain  it.  ^ 

During  the  summer  some  of  the  costly  books  which  were 

Leavitt    &    Co.    and    were    better    appreciated.     Thus 
Ireland's  Forgeries,"  for  which  ^45  had  been  bid,  now 

.Hoi      ^'^^7"'"  '  "'''^-'°"^^y  low  price;    and  thi 
44  volume  Shakespeare  brought  3748  in  place  of  ^572. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

Third  Season.  New  faces.  "Quits."  Miss  Agnes  Leonard.  "Amer- 
icans Abroad."  "The  Youth  of  Louis  XIV."  "Odette."  Miss 
Rehan's  first  important  part.  Helene  Stoepel.  "La  Girouette." 
New  aspirants.  Lillian  Russell.  William  Collier  recommended. 
Plays.  Musical  drama  by  Mrs.  Parnell.  Daly  in  Uhrig's  Cave, 
St.  Louis.  His  opinion  of  that  city;  police  mysteries.  The 
author  of  "Dixie"  in  his  old  age.  Benefit  for  Daniel  Emmet. 
Journalistic  appreciation  of  Daly's  work.  The  season  of  1882- 
1883.  Long  effort  attaining  its  reward.  "Mankind"  —  a  Cock- 
ney melodrama.  "The  Squire."  Miss  Rehan's  Kate  Verity. 
Lewis'  Gunnion  a  marvel.  Miss  Virginia  Dreher's  debut.  "Our 
English  Friend."  Lewis  balks  at  the  principal  character  being 
given  him;  Drew  demurs  to  its  being  taken  away  from  him. 
Daly  arranges  all  that.  Lewis'  ills  and  omens.  Anniversary  of 
Daly's  first  play,  "Leah  the  Forsaken,"  December  8,  1862. 
First  production  of  old  comedy  in  this  theatre  —  "She  Would  and 
She  Would  Not."  Ilypolita  fits  Miss  Rehan  at  all  points.  Drew's 
Don  Philip  capital.  Production  of  the  latest  Parisian  sensation, 
"Serge  Panine."  Admirable  acting  of  Drew.  The  story  does  not 
elicit  sympathy.  At  last  the  popular  success  arrives  —  "Seven- 
Twenty-Eight"  catches  the  town.  Tour  in  the  West  and  to  the 
Pacific.  Fate  of  Shook  &  Palmer,  once  leaders  of  theatricals  in 
New  York. 

The  new  season^  opened  with  another  failure,  "Quits," 
from  the  German,  in  which  everybody  appeared,  and  Miss 
Laura  Joyce,  a  wholesome  and  handsome  English  girl, 
was  seen  for  the  first  time  at  Daly's.  The  fate  of  the  play 
was  prognosticated  by  the  favor  it  received  from  the  com- 
pany when  read  to  them  in  the  Green  Room.  My  brother 
wrote  to  me  :  "It  went  with  screams.  They  say  that  is  a 
bad  sign."     The  disappointment  came  after  a  very  suc- 

1 1881-1882. 
346 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  347 

cessful  summer  revival  of  "Cinderella  at  School,"  and  not- 
withstanding an  excellent  performance  by  W.  J.  Lemoyne, 
also  a  newcomer,  whose  acting  with  Lewis  was  In  the  vein 
of  true  comedy.  Further  additions  to  the  company  were 
Henry  M.  Pitt,  George  Vanderhoff,  Jr.,  Miss  Helen  Tracy, 
and  Miss  Marie  Williams.  There  was  a  notable  change  of 
policy  this  season  —  the  plan  of  a  musical  company  In 
addition  to  a  dramatic  force  was  abandoned.  It  had  not 
succeeded,  and  it  was  not  resumed  for  a  dozen  years, 
"Quits"  was  played  four  weeks,  and  while  it  was  on,  a 
series  of  Wednesday  matinees  introduced  to  the  public 
a  new  face  —  Miss  Agnes  Leonard,  who  appeared  first  in 
"Raven's  Daughter,"  adapted  expressly  for  her  from  the 
German  of  Dr.  A.  Wilbrandt,  and  afterwards  in  "Frou- 
Frou." 

"Americans  Abroad"  by  Edgar  Fawcett  was  put  on 
next,  but  after  seventeen  representations  the  manager 
withdrew  It  and  hurled  his  forces  at  its  successor.  This 
was  "The  Youth  of  Louis  XIV"  ^  from  the  well-known 
comedy  of  Dumas  pere.  Mrs.  Gilbert  was  Anne  of 
Austria,  Leclercq  Mazarin,  Digby  Bell  Moliere,  Drew 
Louis  XI F,  Miss  Rehan  Marie  de  Mancini,  Miss  Joyce 
Georgette,  Miss  Brooks  Le  Due  d'Anjou,  Miss  Everson  Char- 
lotte, Miss  Bancroft  Mdlle.  de  la  Motte,  Emily  Denin 
Charles  II,  Miss  Fielding  Princess  Henrietta,  Vanderhoff 
de  Guiche,  and  Lemoyne  Danjeau.  The  story  was  of  vital 
historical  interest  to  Parisians,  but  excited  little  In  New 
York,  and  all  the  managerial  care  to  be  archaeologically 
correct,  the  gorgeous  palaces,  the  splendid  costumes,  the 
forest  of  Fontainebleau,  the  orangery,  the  hunt,  and  the 
brilliant  array  of  courtiers  were  wasted.  This  was  the 
third  successive  defeat  of  the  season.  The  next  play  made 
a  hit. 

1  Produced  October  22,  1881. 


348  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"The  Passing  Regiment"  ^  was  a  Daly  version  of  Moser 
and  von  Schonthan's  "Krieg  im  Frieden"  (War  in 
Peace).  The  incident  of  a  regiment  billeted  upon  a  rural 
town  was  neatly  transferred  to  America.  Drew,  as 
Lieutenant  Paul  Dexter,  and  Miss  Rehan,  as  the  Russian 
ingenue,  Telka  Essoff,  were  brilliant  in  true  comedy  roles. 
While  this  lively  piece  was  on  its  successful  way,  the  man- 
ager was  busy  with  the  rehearsals  of  a  remarkable  pro- 
duction. 

"Odette,"  Sardou's  latest  Parisian  sensation,  was  no 
sooner  underlined  than  theatrical  and  critical  circles  won- 
dered what  new  actress  of  rare  gifts  was  to  be  engaged 
for  the  exacting  and  sympathetic  role  of  the  heroine,  whose 
tragic  story  was  so  widely  discussed  when  the  brilliant 
master  of  stage  art  presented  his  creation  to  France. 
When  this  part,  which  demanded  feeling,  power,  and  pas- 
sion —  governed  by  reserve  —  was  given  to  Miss  Rehan, 
there  was,  after  the  first  pause,  a  realization  that  Mr.  Daly's 
judgment  was  not  at  fault.  It  was  true  that  she  had 
never  before  essayed  so  weighty  a  task,  and  that  her  suc- 
cesses had  been  in  comedy,  but  already  a  well-known 
English  critic,  Joseph  Hatton,  in  his  "America  To-day," 
written  after  one  of  his  visits  to  New  York,  had  coupled 
her  with  Clara  Morris  and  declared  them  to  be  "  two  of  the 
most  remarkable  actresses  now  on  the  boards,"  and  had 
added  that  Miss  Rehan  excelled  in  "true  natural  comedy." 

The  part  of  Berangere  reintroduced  Helene  Stoepel 
(Bijou  Heron)  to  America.  She  was  now  a  fresh  and 
charming  girl  who  had  had  since  her  childhood  but  one 
season's  theatrical  experience,  an  English  tour  with  Bouci- 
cault.  Her  father,  now  musical  conductor  with  his  "old 
friend  Daly,"  brought  her  with  him  from  abroad.  He 
had  written  : 

'  Produced  November  lo,  1881. 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  349 

"She  has,  I  find,  many  of  her  mother's  ways  and  attitudes 
on  the  stage.  It  must  however  be  so  by  nature,  considering 
that  she  had  no  chance  herself  to  see  her  mother  act." 

The  cast  included  Pitt  as  the  Count,  Henry  Miller,  Drew, 
VanderhoflF,  Lewis,  Leclercq,  Parkes,  Moore,  Sterling, 
Roberts,  Bedell,  Mrs.  Gilbert,  and  Misses  Fielding, 
Howard,  Vincent,  Everson,  Denin,  Hapgood,  Hinckley, 
and  Perring.  Pitt's  illness  immediately  after  the  premiere 
required  a  change  of  cast,  and  young  Miller  was,  not- 
withstanding his  youth,  given  the  Count,  and  acquitted 
himself  with  dignity  and  discretion.  The  drama  was 
played  seventy-seven  times. 

The  final  production  of  the  season  was  "La  Girouette" 
by  A.  Coedes,  Hennery,  and  Bocage,  adapted  by  Fred 
Williams  and  Stoepel,  introducing  a  charming  young 
singer.  Miss  Francesca  Guthrie,  and  a  capital  eccentric 
actor,  William  Gilbert,  who  became  a  fixture  at  Daly's. 

Among  the  applicants  this  season  for  engagements  were 
Lillian  Russell,  then  at  Tony  Pastor's  and  making  an  im- 
pression, and  Mr.  William  Collier,  who  was  brought  to 
Mr.  Daly's  notice  by  his  stepfather : 

Augustin  Daly,  Esq.  "City,  July  5th,  1882. 

Dear  Sir, 

I  take  the  liberty  of  penning  you  these  few  lines  to  ask  if 
you  have  a  vacancy  in  any  department  —  as  I  would  like  to 
place  my  step-son  before  I  go  to  my  engagement.  Call-Boy, 
office,  usher  or  anything.  He  is  eighteen  years  of  age,  a  good 
penman  and  correct  at  figures.  Why  I  would  like  to  get  him 
in  a  theatre  is  —  he  is  not  strong  and  cannot  do  very  heavy 
work.  If  you  have  any  such  opening  and  will  give  him  con- 
sideration you  will  confer  a  favor  on 

Yours  truly 

Edmund  Collier. 
166  West  4th  St.,  City." 


350  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

New  plays  were  offered  by  W.  F.  G.  Shanks,  —  a  well- 
known  journalist,  who  rewrote  a  short  piece,  "A  Prince  of 
Good  Fellows,"  which  he  said  had  been  played  as  early  as 
1857, —by  Bartley  Campbell  ("Mother  and  Daughter"), 
and  by  John  A.  Stevens  ("Passion's  Slave").  A  literary 
curiosity  was  the  dramatic  attempt  of  Mr.  Henry  Morri- 
son, a  well-known  New  York  lawyer.  Very  interesting 
is  the  following  communication  from  the  mother  of 
Charles  Stewart  Parnell : 

"May  15,  1882. 
To  Augustin  Daly,  Esq. 
Dear  Sir, 

I  am  extremely  desirous  of  having  the  pleasure  of  making 
your  acquaintance  and  of  speaking  to  you  concerning  a  musical 
drama  I  wish  to  produce,  if  agreeable,  in  whatever  way  is  most 
desirable.  I  shall  be  extremely  obliged  to  you  if  you  will, 
when  convenient,  be  so  good  as  to  name  a  time  at  which  I  may 
be  able  to  see  you.  I  go  to  my  country  place  today  by  the  7 
P.M.  train.     My  address  is  Ironside,  Bordentown,  New  Jersey. 

Believe  me  to  be,  dear  sir,  truly  yours, 

Delia  T.  S.  Parnell. 

The  play  is  not  political,  it  is  musical  chiefly  —  dramatic, 
pathetic,  and  comic  —  with  a  continuous  plot  —  and  contains 
dances." 

There  was  the  customary  tour  of  the  Daly  company, 
east  and  west.  When  it  got  to  St.  Louis,  it  played  in 
"Uhrig's  Cave,"  a  sort  of  al  fresco  resort  and  open-air 
theatre.  Augustin  wrote  concerning  it  and  the  St.  Louis 
of  1882  : 

"If  you  can  imagine  the  Punch  &  Judy  stand  on  a  large  scale 
you  have  an  idea  of  this  theatre,  where  only  the  stage  is  under 
roof,  where  even  the  orchestra  plays  under  the  open  sky,  and 
where  the  entire  audience  sit  on  a  pebbly  sward  and  under  the 
greenwood  tree.     It  is  quite  a  common  occurrence  for  an  iras- 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  351 

cible  auditor  to  come  back  with  his  coupon  and  complain  that 
his  seat  is  behind  a  big  tree.  Dorney  says  it's  the  old  story, 
'That  post  is  in  my  way.'  He  thinks  if  there  were  a  theatre  up 
in  the  sky  some  grunter  would  come  up  and  complain  of  his 
seat  being  behind  one  of  'them  stars.' 

We  have  showers  here  on  the  slightest  provocation.  And 
on  each  shower  the  streets  actually  ooze  mud.  And  such  slimy, 
villainous  mud.  It  is  not  new  and  wholesome  mud  such  as 
you  would  expect  from  such  a  comparatively  new  city  as  St. 
Louis,  but  that  spongy  exudation  such  as  you  come  across  in 
the  old,  old  towns  of  the  old  world,  coming  up  out  of  the  old, 
old  cobble  stones  which  have  received  and  smothered  the 
rains  and  the  drippings  and  the  filth  of  ages.  But  then 
St.  Louis  is  a  sort  of  old  young  City.  It  is  youthful  in  years 
but  it  is  full  of  wrinkled  little  lanes  and  byways  such  as  you 
only  look  for  in  the  old,  old  towns.  The  houses  have  a  black- 
ened and  aged  and  tumbled-away  look  —  that  is,  those  in  the 
heart  of  the  City,  and  the  atmosphere  half  the  time  is  dark  and 
heavy,  smoky  and  smutty.  The  Mississippi  too,  which  cuts 
the  town  into  an  East  St.  Louis  and  St.  Louis  proper  is  a  Tiber- 
ish  sort  of  stream  just  here,  full  of  eddies,  yellow  and  thick 
with  mud  and  drift,  old  tree  roots,  and  the  floating  curiosities 
which  fall  into  its  bosom  from  its  hundreds  of  miles  of  bank  and 
levee.  Strange  mysteries  it  holds,  and  sometimes  gives  up. 
Hardly  a  day  passes  (not  one  since  I've  been  here)  that  one  or 
two  dead  bodies  are  not  brought  in  by  the  colony  of  Rogue 
Riderhoods  who  gain  a  livelihood  about  here.  Three  days  ago 
one  of  them  brought  ashore  the  body  of  a  pretty  young  girl 
who  had  been  missing  a  fortnight.  She  was  only  14.  She 
had  come  here  with  her  sister  from  Denver.  They  were  visit- 
ing friends.  A  party  was  to  be  given  in  their  honor  one  even- 
ing, and  she  went  out  to  make  a  call  and  post  a  letter  before  the 
guests  came.  She  was  never  seen  alive  again.  It  has  become 
one  of  the  police  cases  of  note,  and  is  known  as  the  Zoe  Watkins 
Mystery.  The  bodies  of  two  men  were  dragged  in  yesterday. 
One  had  been  six  months  in  the  water,  the  other  a  few  weeks. 
It  is  a  queer  town  and  the  river  is  a  strange  old  stream.     I 


352  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

wish  you  could  roam  over  some  of  these  odd  places  with  me. 
How  we  would  plan  romances  out  of  our  walks  !  Think  of  such 
a  title  —  The  Mysteries  of  the  Mississippi !  Where  would 
Lippard  or  Reynolds  or  Sue  be?" 

This  is  a  very  dark  picture,  and  it  is  only  just  to  say  that 
it  is  the  view  of  a  manager  who  lost  sixteen  hundred  dollars 
in  two  weeks  there.  For  the  benefit  of  those  unacquainted 
with  our  early  native  novelists,  it  may  be  mentioned  that 
George  Lippard  was  a  writer  of  thrilling  tales  in  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  is  now  less  known  than 
Charles  Brockden  Brown.  Reynolds  was  the  author  of 
"The  Mysteries  of  the  Court  of  London,"  and  a  favorite 
with  London  apprentices,  but  hardly  to  be  classed  with  the 
author  of  "The  Mysteries  of  Paris." 

In  Chicago  Daly  took  great  interest  in  a  benefit  planned 
for  Daniel  D.  Emmet,  "the  father  of  negro  minstrelsy," 
so  called,  as  he  organized  the  first  black-face  minstrel 
band.  He  was  the  author  of  the  words  and  music  of 
Dixie,  and  now,  at  seventy  years,  was  compelled  to  earn 
his  living  with  his  violin  in  a  Chicago  dive,  as  Augustin 
was  informed  by  Dr.  G.  A.  Kane. 

This,  from  the  Nezv  York  Dramatic  News,  may  be  quoted 
from  among  the  tributes  of  the  year  1882  : 

"The  theatrical  profession  of  America  owes  to  Mr.  Daly 
more  than  to  any  man  living.  The  Wallacks  and  the  Palmers 
are  insignificant  beside  him,  for  Mr.  Daly  was  not  a  mere  pro- 
ducer. He  was  a  creator.  It  was  not  a  year  after  Mr.  Daly 
opened  his  first  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  that  every  manager  in 
America  found  out  .he  had  to  change  his  manner  of  doing 
things.  .  .  .  With  the  production  of  Frou-Frou  began  a  new 
era  for  the  American  stage.  Then  came  his  own  plays  —  Hori- 
zon, the  best  of  them  all,  Man  and  Wife,  Divorce,  Pique,  and 
numberless  others  which  enrich  not  alone  himself  but  all  the 
theatres  of  the  country,  and  this  was  long  after  Leah  and  Under 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  353 

the  Gaslight,  which,  in  their  day,  also  made  fortunes  for  those 
who  handled  them.  Mr.  Daly  turned  out  one  star  after 
another.  .  .  .  Agnes  Ethel,  Clara  Morris,  Fanny  Davenport, 
Kate  Claxton  were  all  names  that  he  made  famous.  When  the 
Union  Square  theatre  came  into  existence  it  had  to  depend  for 
existence  upon  what  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  had  made. 
Daly  was  the  creator  —  Palmer  the  imitator.  We  say  this  in 
no  derogatory  spirit  to  Mr.  Palmer,  we  only  state  a  fact  that  no 
one  can  ignore.  With  Mr.  Daly's  financial  ups  and  downs  we 
have  nothing  to  do.  But  he  might  have  been  a  very  rich  man 
had  not  his  whole  energy  and  whole  being  been  devoted  to  his 
art.  He  made  money  to  spend  it,  not  to  hoard  it.  .  .  .  Men 
with  vim  and  nerve  like  Augustin  Daly  must  always  survive 
misfortune  that  would  crush  the  average  man." 

In  the  summer  recess  Augustin  bestowed  much  money 
on  redecorating  his  theatre.  He  vi^rote  to  me  in  August, 
1882: 

"Everyone  thinks  it  is  loveliness.  The  Company  assembled 
to-day  'on  call'  looking  very  sunburnt  and  very  hearty.  I  am 
ready  and  eager  now  for  the  German  comedy,  for  I  have  another 
stunning  French  play." 

Repeating  the  policy  of  a  preliminary  season  with  the 
success  of  the  preceding  one,  "The  Passing  Regiment" 
was  put  on ;  but  it  was  followed  on  September  5  by  the 
melodrama  "Mankind."  My  brother  loved  a  good  melo- 
drama —  one  of  those  pictures  in  which  there  is  no  sub- 
tlety, only  striking  figures,  lurid  lights,  gloomy  abysses  of 
shadow,  and  virtue  on  the  rack;  with  malignant  villainy, 
hypocrisy,  and  greed  working  their  will  until  caught  In  the 
mill  of  the  gods  and  satisfactorily  demolished.  Such  was 
"Mankind,"  by  Paul  Merritt  and  George  Conquest,  which 
came  to  Augustin  from  Conquest's  own  "Grecian  Theatre  " 
In  London.     It  was  a  pure  London  type,  with  supposedly 


354  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

English  scenes,  characters,  and  villains ;  and  it  must  be  a 
lively  imagination  that  can  conceive  more  depraved  and 
entertaining  villains  than  those  of  London  melodrama. 
The  chief  miscreant  in  this  play  was  Groodge,  a  money- 
lender, aged  loi,  who  strangles  his  old  associate  Sharpley, 
a  stripling  of  73,  with  a  silk  pocket-handkerchief.  The 
principal  occupation  of  the  characters,  good  and  bad,  con- 
sists in  endeavoring  to  get  possession  of  a  will ;  that 
document  is  stolen  by  A,  recovered  by  B,  cribbed  by  C, 
and  rescued  by  D  in  a  wild  scramble  on  the  Thames  em- 
bankment. The  piece  introduced  several  new  members 
of  the  company  :  Mr.  Yorke  Stephens,  Miss  Helen  Lay- 
ton,  Miss  Florence  Elmore,  Miss  Hattie  Russell,  and 
finally  Master  Collier  (regularly  employed  as  call-boy,  but 
exercising  his  talents  in  small  parts)  who  was  described  in 
the  cast  of  characters  as  ''''Albert  Fitzallen,  age  11 — oc- 
cupation, managing  clerk  —  place  of  abode,  4th  floor  back, 
Bermondsey  —  disposition.  Meek." 

As  the  play  did  not  require  Miss  Rehan,  Mrs.  Gilbert, 
Mr.  Drew,  or  Mr.  Lewis,  its  startling  pictures  of  the  hu- 
man race  did  not  attract  very  great  audiences  ;  neverthe- 
less it  was  given  forty  times.  Then  came  Pinero's  "The 
Squire,"  a  work  destined  to  win  a  distinguished  place  in 
the  annals  of  the  theatre.  The  readers  of  Hardy's  "Far 
from  the  Madding  Crowd"  recognized  its  plot  in  the 
story  of  Kate  Ferity,  the  Squire  and  mistress  of  the  farm. 
The  part  of  Kate  Ferity  fell  naturally  to  Miss  Rehan,  who 
gave  as  convincing  a  picture  of  the  strong,  self-contained, 
but  loving  and  tender  Englishwoman  as  she  had  given 
in  "Odette"  of  the  vivid  Frenchwoman,  The  charm  of 
this  new  impersonation  was  enhanced  by  the  delicate  shade 
of  melancholy  that  pervaded  its  most  hopeful  scenes.  Miss 
Virginia  Dreher,  a  beautiful  Southern  woman,  who  had 
been  recommended  to  Mr.  Daly  by  the  Western  manager 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  355 

John  W.  Norton,  now  appeared  as  the  gypsy  girl  Chrystie 
Haggerstone,  playing  the  part  with  a  spirit  and  fire  that 
were  instantly  remarked  as  indicative  of  great  promise. 
Charles  Fisher,  a  patriarchal  figure  as  Parson  Dormer, 
might  be  said  to  have  been  reserved  through  a  long  stage 
career  to  personify  "the  mad  parson."  The  surprise  of 
the  performance,  however,  was  Lewis'  Gunnion,  the  hard- 
ened old  shepherd. 

The  play  was  followed  by  a  German  comedy.  "Our 
English  Friend"  was  the  name  given  by  the  adapter  to 
"Reif  von  Reiflingen,"  intended  by  Moser  as  a  sequel  to 
his  "Krieg  im  Frieden"  —  "The  Passing  Regiment." 
The  play  was  without  a  plot,  but  by  this  time  the  audi- 
ences at  Daly's  were  not  particular  as  to  plot,  if  only  they 
were  allowed  to  witness  Miss  Rehan,  Mr.  Drew,  Mrs. 
Gilbert,  Mr.  Lewis,  and  the  other  members  of  the  company 
in  new  and  entertaining  situations. 

In  "Our  English  Friend"  Lewis  was  cast  for  Digby  de 
Righy,  and  for  the  first  time  was  afraid  of  his  part,  which  he 
thought  was  to  be  played  in  the  "heavy  swell"  manner. 
He  was  particularly  gloomy  about  certain  love  scenes.  He 
complained  to  the  manager:  "I  can't  do  it  that  way!" 
to  which  Daly  replied,  "Do  it  your  own  way."  Lewis 
followed  the  suggestion  with  happy  results.  While  he  was 
thus  troubled,  Drewwas  surprised  to  find  that  the  principal 
part  was  not  to  be  given  to  him,  and  he  made  a  temperate 
appeal  to  the  manager.  He  was  assured  that  the  part  of 
Rigby  was  not  light  comedy,  but  eccentric.  Drew  with  the 
utmost  good  nature  accepted  the  role  of  Spencer,  and  went 
through  it  to  the  delight  of  the  audiences  during  the  long 
run  of  the  piece.  Lewis'  gloomy  view  of  his  part  and  of 
existence  just  then  may  have  been  owing  to  the  pensive 
regard  he  always  had  for  his  own  health.  He  also  suf- 
fered from  portents  : 


356  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"One  of  my  best  Brahmas  died  suddenly  on  Friday  from  some 
unknown  cause;  and  I  had  thirteen  newly  hatched  chickens; 
and  my  dog  thought  he  would  kill  one  of  them  —  still,  I  am 
not  superstitious." 

This  was  written  from  his  neat  little  country  place  at  Good 
Ground,  Long  Island. 

December  8,  1882,  recalled  a  great  occasion,  and  Augus- 
tin,  after  our  customary  walk  down  to  the  Court  House 
together,  on  December  3,  wrote  me  next  day  : 

Dear  Brother,  "December  4,  1882. 

Friday  is  the  anniversary  of  'Leah,'  our  first.  'Tis  20  years 
since  !" 

The  company  had  been  in  training  long  enough  for 
Augustin  now  to  gratify  his  love  for  old  comedies.  Colley 
Gibber's  "She  Would  and  She  Would  Not"  was  produced 
on  January  15,  1883,  with  Miss  Rehan  and  Mr.  Drew. 
Miss  Rehan's  tall  and  slender  figure  and  her  touch  of 
bravado  were  well  suited  to  the  adventurous  Hypolita, 
disguised  in  cavalier's  dress,  in  pursuit  of  her  discarded 
lover ;  and  Mr.  Drew's  Don  Philip,  perplexed  and  harassed 
by  that  designing  young  person,  now  indignant,  now 
puzzled,  now  quizzical,  was  forcible  and  picturesque. 
Lewis  was  an  ideal  valet  Trappanti,  and  Fisher  an  authori- 
tative Don  Manuel.  The  lively  waiting  maid  and  confi- 
dante Flora  was  given  to  Miss  Leyton,  and  Miss  Dreher  as 
Donna  Rosara,  and  Miss  Fielding  as  Viletta  brought  ex- 
traordinary beauty  as  well  as  intelligence  to  the  cast. 
William  Gilbert  as  the  plausible  Host,  with  his  "neck  or 
nothing,"  Yorke  Stephens  as  Don  Octavio,  Bainbridge  as 
Don  Luis,  Beekman  as  The  Corregidor,  and  Webber  as 
Soto,  completed  the  cast. 

We  remember  that  the  comedy  had  been  given  at  the 


'5> 


E    ■£ 


^»J 


-J  J 


THE   LIFE   OF[AUGUSTIN   DALY  357 

first  Fifth  Avenue  fourteen  years  before  for  Mrs.  Scott- 
Siddons,  and  it  was  not  until  Miss  Rehan's  time  that  Mr. 
Daly  found  any  member  of  his  many  and  brilliant  com- 
panies adapted  to  the  part. 

Augustin  was  now  ready  to  present  a  new  comedy  of 
manners  from  the  French  of  Georges  Ohnet,  "Serge  Pa- 
nine,"  one  of  the  successes  of  the  Paris  stage.  The  title 
role  demanded  extraordinary  gifts  in  the  actor  to  keep  the 
impersonation  within  the  bounds  of  reality,  and  this  power 
Augustin  discerned  in  John  Drew,  to  whom  he  com- 
mitted the  part  of  Prince  Panine  with  confidence.  Drew 
gave  a  finished  picture,  as  authoritative  as  Charles  Cogh- 
lan's  Due  de  Septmonts,  a  role  in  the  same  line.  Miss 
Mary  Shaw,  a  newcomer  to  the  Daly  ranks,  was  given  the 
sympathetic  part  of  Lottie,  the  victim  not  only  of  the  for- 
tune-hunting-prince, but  of  a  title-hunting  mother.  The 
latter,  a  strong  part,  was  portrayed  with  vigor  by  Miss 
Fanny  Morant,  now  back  where  she  longed  to  be,  under 
the  Daly  management.  Miss  Rehan  assumed  the  role 
of  Jeannelde  Cernay. 

After  expending  upon  this  new  play  the  infinite  care 
which^he  gave  to  everything  he  produced,  the  manager 
saw- it  fail,  and  he  tossed  it  away.  To  understand  his 
sensitiveness  about  a  failure,  it  must  be  understood  that  his 
personal  labor  was  involved  in  every  production.  He  had 
no]stage  manager,  —  no  producer,  as  the  term  is  understood, 
to  whom  the  duty  of  setting  a  play  before  the  public  was 
committed,  no  functionary  who  allotted  the  parts  to  the 
company  and  handed  the  sketches  to  the  scene  painters, 
the  plans  to  the  carpenters,  and  the  costume  plates  to  the 
mistress  of  the  wardrobe,  and  then  rehearsed  and  instructed 
the  actors.  And  when  all  his  labor  was  in  vain,  he  felt 
keenly  the  waste  of  study  and  care  bestowed  upon  a  play 
by  himself  and  by  his  conscientious  company. 


358  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

But  the  present  disappointment  was  destined  to  be  the 
dark  hour  before  the  dawn.  A  new  play  ushered  in  that 
long  period  of  success  which  is  connected  with  the  memo- 
ries of  Daly's.  "Seven-Twenty-Eight"  was  adapted  from 
von  Schonthan's  "Der  Schwabenstreich"  —  literally, 
"The  Swabian  Blunder,"  a  localism  expressing  the  inevi- 
table tendency  of  the  most  knowing  mortals  to  make  fools 
of  themselves  at  least  once  in  their  lives.  The  farce  had 
had  a  prodigious  success  all  over  Germany,  and  it  was 
expected  to  furnish  an  agreeable  wind-up  for  the  season. 
The  immediate  and  lasting  impression  it  made  could  not 
have  been  anticipated.  As  usual,  great  pains  were  be- 
stowed upon  the  preparation.  Not  only  morning,  but 
midnight  rehearsals  were  held.  One  letter  asked  me  to 
come  down  at  twelve  at  night  to  see  the  rehearsal  with 
scenes.  Those  midnight  rehearsals  are  well  remembered, 
—  the  manager  as  unwearied,  and  the  company  as  eager 
and  alert  at  6  a.m.  as  at  the  beginning  of  their  labors. 
Being  the  only  critic  allowed  on  these  occasions,  to  hint  at 
refreshment  was  permitted  to  me  —  hence  my  pencilled 
reply  to  the  above-mentioned  note  : 

"Will  be  there  and  thereabouts.     Query  :  Coffee  and  cakes  ?" 

That  first  night,  February  24,  1883,  will  be  long  re- 
membered. As  if  the  coming  of  something  uncommonly 
good  were  in  the  air,  the  house  was  crowded,  and  so  con- 
tinued night  after  night  until  the  end  of  the  season. 

Augustin  now  saw  success  in  sight  after  a  desperate 
effort  of  four  years.  If  he  loved  rest,  he  could  take  it  now. 
And  we  celebrated  the  victory  in  our  own  way ;  on  March 
I,  1883,  he  wrote  : 

"We  will  begin  our  walks  on  Monday  if  you  say  so.  Come 
down  Saturday  and  see  the  house." 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  359 

The  "house"  was  a  sight  to  gladden  any  one.  The 
quality  of  "Seven-Twenty-Eight"  was  lasting;  after 
thirty  years  it  keeps  the  stage,  as  fresh  as  at  first,  and 
the  "book"  is  still  one  of  the  "best  sellers"  among  act- 
ing editions. 

The  tour  of  the  Daly  company  began  in  Philadelphia 
with  immense  applause.  The  Bostonians  were  more  se- 
date, and  so  irritated  Lewis  that  he  called  them  "deputies 
from  the  Knickerbocker  Ice  Company."  Cincinnati  was 
visited  for  the  first  time  with  an  accompaniment  of  fire 
bells  from  a  neighboring  tower,  succeeded  by  a  thunder 
storm,  but  the  play  triumphantly  survived  both.  Chi- 
cago, let  it  be  said  to  its  credit,  preferred  old  comedy 
to  new,  and  audiences  that  rivalled  those  of  the  opera  in 
brilliancy  assisted  at  "She  Would  and  She  Would  Not." 
The  Germans  of  Milwaukee  crowded  the  theatre  on  the 
Fourth  of  July,  and  the  military  colony  of  Omaha  turned 
out,  or  rather  turned  in,  in  force.  In  Denver  the  players 
were  caught  in  a  newspaper  war,  each  side  abusing  the 
plays  that  the  other  favored  ;  but  Augustin  diplomatically 
soothed  them  all  before  he  left.  In  San  Francisco  he  saw 
Modjeska  act  for  the  first  time.  He  thought  her  Mary 
Stuart  was  machine-like,  adorned  with  French  manner- 
isms, without  soul  or  genuine  feehng. 

While  Augustin  was  away  he  heard  of  the  breakup  of 
the  Shook  &  Palmer  firm.  Palmer  retired  from  the  man- 
agement of  the  Union  Square  Theatre  to  be  succeeded  by 
James  W.  Collier,  a  well-known  actor.  Palmer  never 
boasted  of  being  versed  in  plays  or  playing,  but  claimed  to 
be  merely  a  business  man,  capable  of  managing  authors  and 
actors  upon  a  business  footing.  He  was  calm,  dispassion- 
ate, and  forbearing  in  his  methods.  His  actors  got  good 
treatment  from  him,  but  no  inspiration.  He  created 
nothing,  and  did  not  attempt  to  shape  what  others  had 


36o  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

created.  He  is  remembered  for  urbanity  and  unruffled 
temper.  Beneath  a  calm  exterior  his  intimates  knew  there 
was  a  sensitive  spirit. 

My  brother  returned  from  the  Pacific  coast  full  of  plans 
for  the  next  season  of  1883-1884. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

The  new  season  with  another  new  piece,  "Dollars  and  Sense."  New 
members.  Henry  Miller  and  Helene  Stoepel  (Bijou  Heron) 
marry.  Miss  May  Irwin  from  Tony  Pastor's.  Rose  Eytinge 
heard  from.  Widow  of  John  H.  Hackett.  Joaquin  Miller.  Bret 
Harte's  play.  Boucicault.  John  Stetson.  "Pique"  and  "Di- 
vorce." "Pique"  kidnapped  and  murdered  in  England.  ^^Birth- 
day  dinner  to  Mrs.  Gilbert.  Pinero's  "Boys  and  Girls."  The 
public  insensible  to  its  merits.  "Seven-Twenty-Eight"  revived, 
to  everybody's  joy.  Opening  of  Wallack's  new  theatre  at  Thirtieth 
Street  and  Broadway.  Palmer  regards  theatricals  as  in  a  bad 
way.  Brilliant  revival  of  "The  Country  Girl"  with  Miss  Rehan 
as  an  adorable  Peggy.  Account  of  the  efforts  to  fit  this  old  comedy 
for  the  stage.  Garrick's  work.  Daly's  work.  The  present  fine 
cast.  "Red  Letter  Nights"  from  the  German.  Miss  Rehan's 
song  and  dance.  Effort  to  interest  W.  D.  Howells  in  adaptation. 
Bjbrnson,  Mark  Twain,  General  De  Peyster.  Henry  E.  Abbey  gives 
up  opera.  The  Lyceum  Company  with  Irving  and  Terry  come 
to  America.     Anecdote  of  Irving. 

The  new  season  opened  with  another  novelty  from  the 
German,  "Dollars  and  Sense"— L'Arronge's  "Die  Sorg- 
lossen"  ("The  Heedless  Ones").  The  play  was  brought 
out  on  October  2,  1883.  The  public  saw  five  new- 
comers :  Miss  Lizzie  Jeremy,  W.  H.  Thompson,  Miss 
Mazie  Marshall,  Miss  Jean  Gordon,  and  Miss  B^elle  Brown. 
We  miss  from  the  company,  however.  Miss  Helene  Stoepel, 
affectionately  remembered  at  Daly's  in  1874  as  Bijou 
Heron,  and  Mr.  Henry  Miller,  who  were  happily  married. 
Mrs.  Miller  retired  from  the  stage.  Her  father  returned 
to  France,  and  his  place  as  conductor  was  filled  by  Henry 
Widmer.  One  bright  particular  personage  was  engaged 
for  forthcoming  productions.     This  was  Miss  May  Irwin, 

361 


362  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

who  had  been  playing  at  Tony  Pastor's  variety  theatre 
and  was  "anxious  to  be  upon  the  legitimate  stage."  A 
letter  which  introduced  her  described  her  as  "bright, 
quite  accomplished,  a  good  vocalist  and  pianist,  and  brim- 
ful of  fun,  wit  and  repartee."  This  was  not  beyond  her 
deserts,  but  far  more  than  her  modesty,  which  was  as 
great  as  her  talents,  would  have  permitted  her  to  claim 
for  herself.  She  became  the  most  striking  and  vivacious 
soubrette  of  Daly's  Theatre.  Miss  May  Robson  was  also 
introduced  as  a  young  lady  "well  educated  and  earnest." 
Miss  Rose  Eytinge,  the  heroine  of  Daly's  "Griffith  Gaunt" 
and  "Under  the  GasHght, "  wrote  that  she  had  "a  super- 
stition that  good  fortune  would  come"  to  her  if  once  more 
under  his  management.  She  was  engaged.  An  interesting 
applicant  for  a  position  was  the  youngwidowof  the  eminent 
Shakespearian  comedian,  John  K.  Hackett,  father  of  the 
late  Recorder  Hackett  and  of  James  K.  Hackett.  Mrs. 
Hackett  had  adopted  the  stage  after  her  husband's  death. 
Another  lady,  whose  lot  was  far  worse  than  a  widow's, 
for  her  husband  was  in  an  asylum  for  the  insane,  —  Mrs. 
Frank  Hardenbergh,  —  wished  to  return  to  the  stage  "in 
order  that  poor  Frank's  property  might  be  devoted  to  the 
support  of  himself  and  his  child." 

New  plays  were  submitted.  Joaquin  Miller  sent  one 
with  a  letter  begging  Mr.  Daly  "to  read  as  far  as  the  end 
of  the  third  act  and  not  further,"  if  he  found  it  did  not  suit 
him.     Bret  Harte,  now  our  consul  at  Glasgow,  wrote  : 

"I  have  finished  a  play  in  three  acts  called  'The  Luck  of 
Roaring  Camp.'  The  first  act  —  or  prologue  as  it  really  is  — 
is  an  almost  literal  dramatization  of  my  original  story,  except 
that  the  child  is  a  girl  instead  of  a  boy.  The  two  remaining 
acts,  which  take  place  in  Paris,  where  the  girl,  grown  a  young 
lady,  has  been  placed  at  school  by  her  rough  but  devoted  fathers 
of  Roaring  Camp,  is  of  course  a  new  conception.     It  is  a  comedy, 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  363 

naturally  —  the  humorous  situations  dominate,  but  the  rough 
element  is  never  low  comedy  —  nor  is  it  ever  obtrusive  or  pro- 
tracted. All  my  old  characters  appear  :  —  Oakhurst,  Stumpy, 
Kentuck  and  Skaggs.  The  principal  is,  of  course,  the  heroine 
—  a  kind  of  intelligent  'fiUe  du  Regiment,'  a  sort  of  boyish 
ingenue  —  such  as  Chaumont  of  the  Varieties  or  Samary  of  the 
Frangais  would  play  in  Paris  now.  I  don't  know  what  actresses 
you  have  'to  the  fore'  in  New  York;  there  are  half  a  dozen  I 
remember  who  could  do  it  nicely.  If  Lotta  would  repress  her- 
self a  little  she  might.   .  .   ." 

Boucicault  had  written  a  comedy,  "Vice  Versa,"  for 
Miss  Martlnot  —  which  he  mysteriously  called  "the  first 
in  a  flight  of  works  to  serve  her  as  a  repertoire,"  and 
further  declared  to  be  "the  best  of  my  screaming  come- 
dies"; he  offered  it  to  Mr.  Daly  with  Miss  Martinot  for 
the  heroine. 

The  success  of  the  new  Daly  plays  created  a  demand  for 
the  older  ones.  John  Stetson  of  Boston,  now  manager  of 
the  one-time  Daly's  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  in  New  York, 
contracted  for  "Pique"  and  "Divorce"  for  a  whole  season, 
to  be  played  with  Agnes  Booth  as  star,  in  all  parts  of  the 
country  not  covered  by  another  contract  of  Daly  with 
Jane  Coombs  for  the  same  pieces.  George  Wood,  formerly 
of  the  Broadway  Theatre,  now  Daly's,  wanted  "Under 
the  Gaslight,"  "Round  the  Clock,"  "The  Big  Bonanza," 
and  "A  Flash  of  Lightning."  It  is  strong  evidence  of 
the  merit  of  the  Daly  plays  that  the  demand  for  them  con- 
tinues to  this  day.  In  passing,  we  may  note  that  a  stolen 
and  mutilated  version  of  "Pique"  was  played  about  this 
time  in  England  at  the  Gaiety  Theatre  under  the  name 
of  "Her  Own  Enemy,"  without  reference  to  Daly's  rights 
as  author  or  proprietor.  A  letter  from  Colonel  T.  Allston 
Brown,  author  of  "A  History  of  the  New  York  Stage," 
to  Mr.  Daly,  says  :    "The  play  was  terribly  cut  to  three 


364  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

acts,  and  Ye  Gods  !  could  you  have  seen  the  perform- 
ance !" 

Before  "Dollars  and  Sense"  ran  its  course,  I  got  this 

brief  note  from  Augustin  : 

"October  20,  1883. 
Dear  Brother 

I  want  you  to  come  to  the  Brunswick  tomorrow  evening  at 
6  :  30.  I  am  giving  a  Birthday  dinner  to  Mrs.  Gilbert  and  I  am 
sure  you  will  like  to  make  one  of  the  few." 

The  dear  old  lady  accepted  with  modesty,  dignity,  and 
pleasure  the  greetings  of  the  favored. 

Pinero's  "Girls  and  Boys"  was  produced  on  December 
5  with  every  important  member  of  the  company  in  the 
cast,  but  it  failed  to  please.  There  were  wholesome  air 
and  sunshine  in  it,  and  the  audience  waited  patiently  for 
something  to  happen,  and  were  mildly  disappointed.  The 
manager  waited  a  week  for  some  sign  of  public  interest 
and  then  gave  it  up.  "Seven-Twenty-Eight,"  the  great 
success  of  the  last  season,  had  been  reserved  for  such  a 
collapse  of  the  regular  programme,  and  being  now  restored 
to  the  boards,  ran  until  February  16,  1884. 

Christmas,  1883,  at  the  theatre  was  celebrated  with 
so  much  jollity  and  substantial  recognition  of  faithful 
service,  that  the  business  force  behind  and  before  the 
scenes  drew  up  a  Happy  New  Year  Address  to  the  mana- 
ger. All  theatre  folks,  however,  were  not  quite  so  happy 
this  Christmas,  for  the  Standard  Theatre  (Sixth  Avenue 
and  Thirty-second  Street)  was  burned  on  December  14 ;  the 
employees  were  helped  by  a  benefit  given  them  by  the  New 
York  managers  on  the  27th.  A  little  more  than  a  year 
before,  the  new  Park  Theatre  (Broadway  and  Twenty- 
second  Street)  was  destroyed  by  fire,  on  the  eve  of  Mrs. 
Langtry's  American  debut.  The  Standard  was  rebuilt ;  the 
Park  was  not.     This  year  Wallack  opened  a  fine  new  play- 


Ada  Rehan  in  i 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  365 

house  at  Broadway  and  Thirtieth  Street,  opposite  Daly's. 
The  old  Wallack's  Theatre  at  Thirteenth  Street  was  to  be 
run  as  a  "star"  theatre  and  called  by  that  name.  Palmer, 
who  as  we  have  seen  had  retired  from  the  Union  Square 
management,  in  an  interview  published  in  the  Herald 
pronounced  New  York  theatricals  to  be  "in  a  bad  way," 
and  congratulated  himself  upon  being  out  of  the  business. 

A  striking  old  comedy  revival,  "The  Country  Girl," 
took  place  at  Daly's  on  February  16,  1884.  When  it 
left  the  hands  of  Wycherly  in  1675,  it  was  called  "The 
Country  Wife,"  and  was  as  indecent  as  even  the  Restora- 
tion could  tolerate ;  and  it  would  never  have  seen  the 
light  of  a  better  day  if  it  had  not  contained  a  female 
part  which  justified  every  effort  to  reform  it.  One  such 
effort  was  made  by  Garrick  in  1766,  who  produced  it  as 
"The  Country  Girl,"  with  conspicuous  alterations  in 
scenes,  characters,  and  dialogue.  Thus  the  famous  char- 
acter of  Mistress  Pinchwife  became  the  young  spinster 
Peggy  Thrift,  and  Pinchwife  became  her  guardian  Mr. 
Moody,  played  by  Garrick  himself.  The  judiciousness  of 
Garrick's  work  kept  it  on  the  stage  until  it  came  to  be 
regarded  in  its  turn  as  too  broad  for  modern  taste. 

It  was  now  Mr.  Daly's  object  to  take  up  the  old  play 
and  fit  It  for  his  public;  and  his  success  showed  that 
coarseness  does  not  add  to  the  humor  of  a  comedy.  He 
edited  Garrick's  dialogue,  but  preserved  all  the  gayety 
and  charm  of  the  situations.  Before  Mr.  Daly  revived 
the  play  It  had  not  been  seen  for  nearly  fifty  years.  The 
right  actress  for  the  part  needs  not  only  youth,  beauty, 
intelligence,  and  vivacity,  but  the  faculty  of  displaying 
every  side  of  girlish  nature,  and  of  being  ingenuous,  artful, 
hoydenlsh,  demure,  Innocent,  timid,  and  headstrong,  all 
at  once.  In  the  days  we  write  of,  there  was  none 
but  Miss  Rehan  equal  to  It.     To  America  the  play  was 


366  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

brought  as  early  as  1879,  t»ut  was  not  played  after  1839, 
when  it  was  given  at  the  Park  Theatre  with  Miss  Fanny 
Fitz  Williams. 

The  old  comedy  was  now  prepared  and  rehearsed  during 
the  long  period  of  leisure  afforded  by  the  revival  of 
"Seven-Twenty-Eight,"  and  upon  its  presentation  to 
one  of  those  very  large  and  very  fashionable  audiences 
which  now  honored  Daly's  on  first  nights,  captured  the 
public  heart  and  remained  always  afterwards  a  standard 
attraction  of  the  Daly  company.  The  press  instantly 
recognized  the  genius  of  the  impersonation. 

To  this  brilliant  revival,  Mr.  Drew,  as  Belville^  brought 
the  highest  polish  of  light  comedy ;  Mr.  Fisher,  as  Moody 
the  gruffness  and  mastery  which  the  author  intended 
as  a  foil  to  the  fine  gentlemen  who  bait  him  and  to 
the  dainty  victim  who  escapes  him ;  and  Mr.  Parkes, 
as  Sparkish  (a  study  in  costume  for  a  water  color), 
the  vacuity  of  the  inevitable  fop  of  the  period.  Mr. 
Stephens,  as  Harcourt,  was  the  pervasive  friend  and 
follower  of  old  comedy.  It  is  needless  to  say  what 
beauty  and  soft  decorum  walked  with  Miss  Dreher  in 
the  part  of  Alithea. 

This  season,  already  rich  in  production,  closed  with 
still  another  new  comedy  from  the  German,  Jacobson's 
"Kin  Gemachter  Mann,"  called  by  Mr.  Daly  "Red  Letter 
Nights,"  and  produced  on  March  12,  1884.  The  play 
was  completely  rewritten,  and  the  Daly  additions  con- 
tained a  scene  which  caught  the  town  at  once  —  that  in 
which  the  youthful  Tony  (Miss  Rehan),  in  order  to  break 
up  the  "international  match"  proposed  for  her,  dis- 
illusionizes her  foreign  admirer  by  assuming  the  tomboy 
and  romping  through  the  nursery  rhyme  and  dance  of 
"Miss  Jenny  O'Jones."  This  impersonation  following  so 
close  upon  her  Peggy,  disclosed  new  phases  of  her  gift  for 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  367 

depicting  the  hoyden.  What  had  been  demure  now  be- 
came boisterous,  and  all  the  delicately  guarded  limitations 
of  feminine  wilfulness  in  Peggy  were  airily  overstepped  by 
the  insolent  Tony,  and  yet  all  was  done  without  striking  a 
single  jarring  note.  The  play  remained  until  April  27, 
1884,  when  the  brilliant  season  closed  and  my  brother 
took  the  company  upon  the  customary  tour. 

W.  D.  Howells'  comedy,  "A  Counterfeit  Presentment," 
had  a  trial  in  Boston  by  Barrett.  Mr.  Daly  proposed  to 
the  author  the  adapting  of  one  of  the  German  comedies, 
to  which  he  agreed ;  but  after  reading  the  play  thought 
that  the  task  of  "naturalizing  it"  would  take  several 
months.  Mr.  Howells  recommended  some  modern  Italian 
comedies  which  he  thought  funnier,  livelier,  and  better 
than  the  German,  and  more  readily  adapted,  and  sent  a 
synopsis  of  a  Spanish  play,  "most  intense  and  powerful," 
besides  recommending  Bjornson's  "Bankruptcy,"  which 
had  a  great  vogue  abroad.  Mark  Twain  dramatized 
"Bob  Sawyer's  Adventures,"  and  wondered  if  Daly  would 
like  to  take  a  look  at  it.  Hjalmar  Boyesen,  author  of 
"Alpine  Roses,"  had  written  another  play  and  wished  to 
see  Daly  about  it;  and  General  De  Peyster  composed  a 
drama  about  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  in  which  the  blowing 
up  of  the  Kirk-o'-field  was  to  be  the  sensation. 

At  the  close  of  this  season,  and  while  Augustin  was 
preparing  an  international  surprise  which  shall  be  the  sub- 
ject of  the  next  chapter,  theatrical  affairs  in  New  York  were 
checkered.  Henry  E.  Abbey  had  retired  with  immense 
losses  from  the  ambitious  directorship  of  the  Metropolitan 
Opera  House,  and  accepted  a  benefit  tendered  by  the  dra- 
matic fraternity  in  remembrance  of  his  activity  in  their 
ranks.  But  a  large  patronage  was  secured  for  four  weeks 
at  the  Star  Theatre  by  the  first  visit  of  Henry  Irving, 
Ellen  Terry,  and  the  Lyceum  Company  to  America  in 


368  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

October,  1883.  Irving,  by  the  way,  had  the  peculiarity  of 
not  returning  calls  of  ceremony.  My  brother  was  a  little 
surprised  at  it,  but  Chief  Justice  Daly  told  me  he  had  had 
the  same  experience,  and  had  mentioned  it  to  Booth,  who 
told  him  that  "Irving  never  called  upon  him  or  anybody 
else." 


SIXTH    PERIOD:     1884-1888 


CHAPTER  XXV 

First  visit  of  an  American  company  to  England.  Toole's  Theatre, 
London,  July  19,  1884.  Slaughter  anticipated.  William  Terriss 
acts  as  Daly's  business  manager.  Very  conservative  criticisms. 
Pallid  reviews.  Triumph  with  "She  Would  and  She  Would  Not." 
Tokens  of  private  interest.  The  victory.  Greeting  of  the  ad- 
venturers on  their  return.  New  faces  —  Miss  Kingdon,  Mr. 
Skinner,  and  Mr.  Bond.  "A  Wooden  Spoon."  Pinero's  "Lords 
and  Commons"  not  a  success.  "Love  on  Crutches"  at  last  holds 
the  boards  and  the  public.  Remarkable  impression  made  by  Miss 
Kingdon.  Death  of  my  brother's  children.  Effect  upon  his  own 
character  the  development  of  love  and  sympathy  for  all  children. 
Henry  Plunkett  Grattan,  founder  of  the  American  Dramatic 
Fund  Association. 

No  sooner  had  Augustin  reestablished  himself  in  America, 
than  he  determined  to  carry  out  a  long-cherished  project 
—  that  of  taking  his  players  to  Europe.  It  was  un- 
equalled for  temerity,  and  not  to  be  compared  with  the 
visits  of  foreign  companies  to  America,  which  were  so 
common  as  to  be  accepted  as  the  proper  thing,  and  were 
attended  with  golden  results.  Thus  Irving  was  so  con- 
fident of  success  that  he  simply  doubled  the  prices  at 
the  Star  Theatre,  and  even  then  could  not  accommodate 
the  throngs  pressing  to  gaze  upon  his  celebrated  "troupe." 
English  managers,  of  course,  knew  of  the  Daly  company ; 
but  it  was  not  certain  that  the  Enghsh  public  knew  or 
cared  about  it. 

The  home  press  was  stirred  over  the  announcement  of 
the  adventure.  It  was  said  that  Daly's  company  was 
the  only  one  that  could  dare  make  the  experiment,  and 
that  Daly  proved  by  his  present  course  that  he  pursued 

371 


372  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

theatrical  art  for  art's  sake  and  not  for  money.  It  was 
recognized  that  he  went  wholly  dependent  upon  his  own 
organization,  which  was  governed  by  his  own  methods, 
and  was  the  outgrowth  of  a  purely  American  and  charac- 
teristically individual  management  —  a  company  as 
delicately  harmonized  as  the  most  proficient  organiza- 
tion upon  the  English  stage,  combining  the  utmost  thor- 
oughness of  stage  discipline  with  scrupulous  care  for 
artistic    fitness    in    detail    and    ensemble. 

Daly  took  with  him  Miss  Ada  Rehan,  Mrs.  G.  H.  Gil- 
bert, Miss  Virginia  Dreher,  Miss  May  Fielding,  Miss 
May  Irwin,  Mr.  John  Drew,  Mr.  James  Lewis,  Mr.  Otis 
Skinner,  Mr.  William  Gilbert,  Mr.  Thompson,  Mr.  Le- 
clercq,  Mr.  Stapleton,  Mr.  Moore,  Mr.  Widmer,  and  Mr. 
Richard  Dorney.  Mr.  William  Winter  accompanied 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daly  to  witness  the  interesting  debut  of 
the  first  American  company  in  London.  They  sailed  on 
July  5,  1884,  on  the  Alaska.  A  crowd  went  down  to 
see  them  off,  and  the  event  was  chronicled  at  length  in 
the  dailies. 

The  opening  night  in  London  was  at  Toole's  Theatre 
in  the  Strand,  one  of  the  smaller  playhouses,  but  a  fa- 
vorite and  well  known.  William  Terriss  was  admitted 
by  Augustin  to  a  share  in  the  enterprise,  and  was  business 
manager.  He  attended  to  the  preliminaries  with  great 
enthusiasm.  The  selection  of  so  small  a  theatre  was 
deliberate  :  If  the  attendance  proved  to  be  small,  it  would 
not  look  so  small  in  it;  besides,  Augustin  meant  that  the 
English  public  and  his  players  should  meet  face  to  face, 
as  it  were,  in  the  intimacy  of  a  small  auditorium.  Before 
the  opening,  on  July  19,  warm  greetings  came  from 
many  friends  — ■  among  them  Mary  Anderson  and  Henry 
Irving,  David  Belasco  and  Clara  Morris.  Augustin 
wrote   me  on  his   birthday    (July   20)   an    account  of  the 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  373 

momentous  event.  There  was  a  large  representation  of 
the  press ;  many  Americans  were  in  the  stalls  and  circle, 
and  the  pit  and  gallery  were  filled  by  Britons.  The 
applause  throughout  was  very  general,  there  were  double 
recalls  after  each  act,  and  at  the  close  the  audience  waited 
and  called  for  Daly.  But  the  humor  of  the  piece,  "  Seven- 
Twenty-Eight,"  did  not  carry  away  the  audience,  and 
the  result  remained  in  doubt. 

The  press  notices  were  what  may  be  termed  conserva- 
tive :  "Everything  seemed  forced;  there  was  no  natural 
humor,  but  an  abundance  of  eccentricity  and  quaint- 
ness ;  Miss  Rehan's  playing  not  without  its  own  peculiar 
charm ;  Mr.  Drew,  an  earnest  and  passionate  lover ;  but 
as  to  Mrs.  Gilbert  and  Mr.  James  Lewis,  the  gentleman 
is  by  far  the  most  successful,  his  dry  sententious  manner 
giving  happy  effect  to  the  ludicrous  Americanisms  which 
belong  to  his  part;  a  wiry  Italian  ballet  master  has  a 
clever  representative  in  Mr.  William  Gilbert;  the  en- 
tire company  play  well  together  so  that  everything  goes 
smoothly,  applause  was  generously  plentiful,  and  the 
first  night's  performance  was  closed  in  the  most  encour- 
aging and  enthusiastic  way."  ^ 

"Players,  out  of  their  own  individuality,  can  compel 
mirth ;  and  it  was  much  in  this  way  that  the  exception- 
ally clever  comedians  from  Daly's  Theatre  forced  a 
favorable  impression  of  a  piece  which,  without  their  con- 
tributing genius,  would  be  as  dull  as  a  Quaker's  homily; 
Miss  Rehan's  style  is  entirely  new  to  the  English  stage  — 
decidedly  captivating  and  yet  curious  and  puzzling. 
She  follows  no  conventional  method  of  elocution,  is 
delightfully  droll  and  takes  her  audience  captive  from 
the  first  scene ;  if  she  is  a  clever  sketcher  of  American 
manners,    she   presents    an   oddity    in    coquettes    that   is 

^  Morning  Post. 


374  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN  DALY 

fresh  and  acceptable  as  a  study  of  transatlantic  society ; 
Mr.  Lewis,  a  comedian  of  evident  ability,  made  all  his 
scenes  tell  with  unmistakable  effect;  Mr.  Drew  is  able 
to  say  dryly  humorous  things  in  the  style  of  the  typical 
American  satirist  and  is  amusing,  but  is  not  our  beau  ideal 
of  a  stage  lover;  the  piece  is  highly  successful,  due  to  the 
performers.  A  section  of  the  audience  seemed  to  think 
a  number  of  Americans  in  the  house  unnecessarily  bois- 
terous in  their  reception  of  the  performers  and  the  piece."  ^ 
One  defender  of  the  British  Isles  from  the  bold  invader 
delivered  a  broadside  which  few  American  corsairs  could 
have  received  without  going  instantly  to  the  bottom  : 
"English  playgoers  had  no  reason  to  be  enamored  of  the 
productions  of  the  American  stage,  and  the  achievements 
of  Mr.  Daly's  company  will  not  efface,  though  they  may 
modify,  this  impression ;  although  they  are  said  to  hold 
the  first  rank  in  New  York  as  exponents  of  comedy, 
the  entertainments  they  provide  must  be  pronounced 
intellectually  inferior  to  what  might  be  seen  at  the  Hay- 
market,  the  St.  James,  or  the  Court  Theatre;  want  of 
intellectuality,  or  even  of  sincerity  appears  to  English 
eyes  the  distinguishing  feature  of  American  stage  work, 
and  the  performance  of  Mr.  Daly's  company,  admirably 
as  its  members  are  disciplined,  is  not  free  from  this  weak- 
ness ;  the  interest  aroused  by  the  actors  was  necessarily 
of  a  personal  kind  only,  was  keen  among  the  critical  first 
night  audience,  but  there  is  too  much  preparation,  too 
little  spontaneity  —  though  on  the  other  hand  they  are 
free  from  the  French  vice  of  affecting  to  take  the  audience 
into  their  confidence.  Miss  Rehan's  impersonation  is 
an  example  of  the  defects  enumerated.  It  has  little  of 
the  girlish  artlessness  associated  with  the  ingenue  of  the 
English    stage.     On    the    contrary,    it    is    stiff,    pedantic, 

^  Chronicle. 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  375 

frequently  ungraceful  from  over-affectation,  and  alto- 
gether, we  should  hope,  a  libel  upon  American  maiden- 
hood. It  is  not  without  its  qualities,  however,  for  a 
certain  dry  humor  plays  under  the  drawhng  intonation 
of  the  actress  and  relieves  her  somewhat  elephantine 
movements.  But  justice  would  not  be  done  to  Mr. 
Daly's  well-organized  company  if  mention  were  not  made 
of  a  certain  quaintness  and  dryness  of  humor  running 
through  their  entire  performance.  This  had  evidently  a 
special  charm  for  the  audience  of  Saturday  night,  as  it 
will  doubtless  have  for  other  audiences  to  come." ' 

After  noting  such  a  critical  appreciation  as  the  above, 
we  can  understand  why  American  actors  had  little  desire 
to  encounter  an  English  welcome,  and  why  Mr.  Daly's 
hazarding  it  for  himself  and  his  company  was,  as  Mr. 
Wallack  declared,  "the  pluckiest  thing  ever  done." 

Although  the  play  chosen  for  the  debut  was  too  novel 
to  take  with  the  London  critics,  the  charm  of  the  players 
was  irresistible.  Crowds  soon  came  nightly  to  applaud 
the  unconventionality  of  Miss  Rehan,  Mr.  Drew,  Mrs. 
Gilbert,  and  Lewis.  The  receipts  of  the  first  week  were 
disappointing,  but  the  second  began  with  a  rush,  and  the 
appearance  of  appreciative  articles,  one  by  George 
Augustus  Sala  in  the  AthencBum,  and  others  in  the  Court 
Journal,  the  Telegraph,  and  Truth  annoyed  the  London 
professionals  by  their  tone.  Terriss  said  the  success  of 
the  season  was  assured.  Henry  Labouchere  was  there 
with  his  wife,  and  said  that  the  play  was  not  the  thing, 
—  the  people  would  come  to  see  the  company  in  any- 
thing. 

"Dollars  and  Sense"  was  the  second  production,  and 
Miss  Rehan  introduced  her  Jenny  0' Jones  scene  from 
"Red  Letter  Nights."     It  gratified  the  critics  less  than 

^  Times. 


376  THE   LIFE  OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"Seven-Twenty-Eight,"  and  they  quite  missed  the  point 
of  some  of  its  humor,  but  the  company,  individually  and 
collectively,  drew  out  such  handsome  expressions  as  to 
augment  the  astonishment  of  native  theatrical  folk.  The 
audiences  were  invariably  in  raptures.  The  business  was 
not  considered  profitable  by  Augustin,  but  it  surpassed 
that  of  the  Lyceum  and  Wyndham's.  Augustin  was  put 
up  at  the  Athenaeum  and  Reform  Clubs,  and  went  to 
the  Laboucheres  for  the  week-end  at  Twickenham. 
Irving  was  doing  Shakespeare's  "Twelfth  Night  or  What 
You  Will,"  which  Punch  described  as  "Twelfth  Night  or 
What  You  Won't." 

The  hit  of  the  season  was  "She  Would  and  She  Would 
Not."  The  recalls  were  extraordinary,  and  when  the 
play  ended  nobody  seemed  disposed  to  go  home,  but 
demanded  the  whole  cast  over  and  over  again.  The 
press  was  now  unanimous.  All  were  enthusiastic,  de- 
clared that  the  interpretation  was  a  revelation,  and 
regretted  that  there  was  no  company  in  London  that 
could  play  old  comedy  as  well.  It  was  the  triumph  Daly 
had  hoped  for  —  that  his  company  would  be  applauded 
in  the  very  birthplace  of  the  old  comedy.  Every  paper 
urged  the  return  of  the  players  for  another  season.  The 
audience  shouted  their  demands  from  crowded  houses. 
The  company  had  won  in  the  supreme  test  of  the  modern 
stage. 

So  the  first  visit  of  an  American  company  was  a  suc- 
cess. The  public  was  attracted  from  the  first,  and  the 
press  yielded  heartily.  The  Impression  it  gave  was  that 
the   visit  was   an   event  of  the   first  importance  in   the 

dramatic  history  of  the  period. 

******** 

The  first  city  to  welcome  the  adventurers  home  was 
Philadelphia,  and  they  were  tumultuously  received.     But 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  377 

the  great  event  was  the  meeting  of  the  company  and  their 
New  York  pubHc  on  the  night  of  October  7,  1884;  each 
familiar  face  was  hailed.  Several  new  claimants  to  favor 
were  in  the  bill  —  Miss  Edith  Kingdon,  Mr.  Otis  Skinner, 
and  Mr.  Frederick  Bond. 

The  opening  play  was  "A  Wooden  Spoon,"  adapted 
from  von  Schonthan's  "Roderick  Heller."  The  story 
exaggerates  some  phases  of  modern  journalism,  modern 
politics,  and  feminine  campaign  activities  —  the  latter 
always  irritating  to  the  German  mind. 

The  new  recruits  became  from  this  night  established 
favorites.  Miss  Kingdon  had  had  but  one  prior  expe- 
rience on  the  regular  stage,  at  the  Boston  Theatre,  but 
she  brought  to  her  new  school  and  teacher  quick  intuition 
and  modest  confidence.  The  strong  vein  of  dramatic 
force  in  evidence  through  all  Mr.  Skinner's  comedy  indi- 
cated the  bent  of  his  talent  and  the  course  it  was  after- 
wards to  follow.  Mr.  Frederick  Bond  began  on  this 
occasion  his  New  York  career  as  an  adaptable  and  versa- 
tile performer. 

The  number  of  the  young  who  were  ambitious  of  attach- 
ing themselves  to  this  school  increased  every  year,  not- 
withstanding the  known  severity  of  the  discipline  of  the 
theatre.  We  have  noticed  that  the  English  admired 
and  praised  that  discipline  as  exhibited  in  every  perform- 
ance of  the  Daly  company. 

"A  Wooden  Spoon"  attracted  the  Daly  audiences 
until  November  15.  A  new  play  of  Pinero,  "Lords 
and  Commons,"  was  the  next  production.  After  ten 
days'  trial  it  was  found  to  be  unattractive  and  had  to  be 
withdrawn,  but  the  event  hastened  the  appearance  of 
one  of  the  most  delightful  comedies  connected  with  the 
memories  of  the  theatre;  this  was  "Love  on  Crutches," 
which  had  lain  upon  Mr.  Daly's  desk  for  nearly  two  years. 


378  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Stobitzer,  in  writing  "Ilire  Ideale"  ("Their  Ideals"), 
intended  gently  to  satirize  those  highly  organized  beings 
who  disdain  realities.  To  Miss  Rehan  (Annis),  Miss 
Kingdon  {Mrs.  Gwyn),  Mrs.  Gilbert  (Mrs.  Quattles),  Mr. 
Drew  {Justin),  Mr.  Skinner  (Roverly),  Mr.  Lewis  {Quat- 
tles), and  Mr.  Gilbert  {Bitter edge),  with  Misses  Gordon 
and  Trevor  and  Messrs.  Bond  and  Beekman  in  minor 
parts,  the  success  was  due.  Margery  Gwyn  was  Miss 
Kingdon's  first  important  part.  With  its  control  of  the 
critical  situations,  its  witty  lines  conveying  the  impres- 
sion of  sagacity  and  finesse,  its  manifestation  of  the 
loyalty  of  woman  to  woman,  it  was  so  easily  a  favorite 
with  the  audience  that  it  might  be  said  that  in  any  hands 
it  could  play  itself  and  be  more  than  merely  effective ; 
but  when  to  a  role  already  admirable  Miss  Kingdon 
brought  the  freshness  of  youth,  the  spell  of  beauty,  and 
a  charm  of  manner  all  her  own,  it  became  captivating. 
"Love  on  Crutches"  continued  until  the  7th  of  February. 
While  this  tide  of  success  was  flowing  in,  and  every  wish 
that  my  brother's  heart  can  be  supposed  to  have  formed 
was  in  course  of  realization,  one  of  the  greatest  misfor- 
tunes which  can  visit  a  human  being  fell  upon  him. 
During  the  Christmas  season  of  1884  his  two  boys,  eleven 
and  fourteen  years  of  age,  developed  diphtheria  and 
steadily  grew  worse.  The  disease  made  rapid  progress 
in  spite  of  skill  and  care.  Tracheotomy  was  resorted  to 
in  the  last  extremity  to  save  the  lives  of  the  children, 
but  failed.  On  Monday,  January  5,  about  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  this  letter  was  brought  me  : 

"Dear  Brother, 

My  little  Austin  has  just  died.  He  seemed  to  fall  asleep 
—  it  was  only  a  little  after  quarter  past  ten  here,  but  I  am  sure 
he  has  wakened  forever  in  heaven." 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  379 

And  after  I  left  him  that  night  came  this  : 

"Dear  Brother, 

Leonard  has  joined  his  Httle  brother.  It  was  a  Httle  past 
half  after  ten." 

After  this  dreadful  blow,  my  brother's  heart  was  filled 
with  a  great  love  and  solicitude  for  all  children.  He 
seemed  now  to  behold  in  all  the  young,  and  especially  in 
little  wanderers,  his  own.  I  have  seen  him  stop  a  crying 
child  in  the  street  to  inquire  its  trouble,  take  it  by  the 
hand  and  restore  it  to  its  home.  In  countless  ways  he 
sought  to  help  the  helpless. 

Perhaps  no  individual  not  holding  exalted  office  in  the 
state  or  nation  ever  received  such  widespread  expressions 
of  sympathy  from  the  public  press  and  from  private 
circles  as  my  brother  did  on  this  occasion.  His  sorrow 
seemed  to  have  become  the  public  concern.  In  the  little 
family  of  his  theatre  there  was  not  a  countenance  which 
did  not  reflect  his  grief. 

That  deserving  institution  known  as  The  Actors' 
Fund,  which  cares  for  the  poor  player,  had  its  annual 
benefit  at  Daly's  Theatre  on  January  8,  1885,  and  the 
companies  of  Wallack,  Palmer,  and  Mallorys  (the  Madison 
Square)  took  part  in  it.  Connected  with  this  subject 
the  following,  relating  to  the  earliest  institution  of  the 
kind  in  America,  will  be  read  with  interest.  It  was  re- 
ceived by  my  brother  while  in  London  : 

"15  Jubilee  Place, 

Kings  Road,  Chelsea. 
August  29th,  1884. 
Dear  Mr.  Daly, 

I  leave  herewith  the  articles  published  in  the  'New  York 
Sunday  Age'  which  give  me  the  proud  right  of  claiming  to  be 
the   Founder  of  'The  American  Dramatic  Fund  Association' 


38o  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

incorporated  at  Albany  N.  Y.  by  the  Senate  and  Assembly 
April  II,  1848. 

I  also  enclose  a  letter  from  my  old  friend  Geo.  Augustus 
Sala,  the  well-known  staunch  advocate  of  all  that  benefits  our 
profession  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic.  I  very  gratefully 
accept  your  kind  offer  to  head  a  testimonial  for  me.  Such  an 
endorsement  of  my  claim  upon  those  I  have  worked  so  faith- 
fully —  and  I  am  happy  to  add  —  successfully  to  place  in  a 
position  of  which  they  may  feel  proud,  coming  from  a  gentle- 
man who  knew  me  as  actor,  author  and  editor  some  years  ago, 
will  be  most  valuable  to  me.  You  asked  me  last  night  what 
heading  (would)  be  most  serviceable  to  me.  I  append  one 
opposite. 

(Testimonial  to  H.  P.  Grattan 

In  recognition  of  his  services  in  procuring  the  passage 
of  the  Act  of  Incorporation  of  'The  American  Dra- 
matic   Fund    Association'    through    the    Senate    and 
Assembly  at  Albany,  New  York,  April  nth,  1848) 
I  little  thought,  when  working  heart  and  soul  for  my  brother 
actors,   I   should   make  this   appeal,   but  I   suffer  at  times   so 
severely  from  heart  disease  that  at  times  I  am  incapacitated 
not  only  from  acting  but  from  resting. 
Wishing  you  every  possible  success 

Believe  me  dear  Mr.  Daly 
Yours  faithfully  and  obliged 
Henry  Plunkett  Grattan. 

One  of  the  original  staff  of  the  'London  Punch.'     Member  of 
the   Dramatic  Authors'   Society  and,   as   part  proprietor  and 
editor   of   'The   New   York   Sunday   Age,'    the   advocate   and 
founder  of  the  American  Dramatic  Fund  Association. 
A.  Daly  Esqr." 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

The  interesting  season  of  1884-1885.  Farquhar's  "Recruiting  Offi- 
cer." Why  it  requires  judicious  treatment  for  our  stage.  Letter 
of  Charles  P.  Daly.  A  new  comedietta,  "A  Woman's  Won't." 
Dissociation  of  Mr.  Daly's  father-in-law  Mr.  Duff  from  the  theatre. 
He  helps  his  son  James  to  manage  The  Standard.  Production  of 
one  of  the  most  entertaining  of  modern  farces,  "A  Night  Off." 
It  carries  the  season  to  a  close.  A  notable  event  —  return  of  Miss 
Clara  Morris  to  Daly  with  a  version  of  Dumas'  "Denise."  It 
fails  to  make  a  success.  Tour  of  the  Daly  company.  Account 
of  Augustin  Daly's  appearance  in  1886,  and  his  characteristics,  by 
a  Boston  writer.  Letter  from  Chicago.  Visit  to  San  Francisco. 
How  Daly  overcame  the  ticket  speculators.  Some  American  and 
other  plays.  Preparations  for  the  production  of  Pinero's  "Magis- 
trate" next  season.  Pinero's  doubts  about  Drew  as  Colonel 
Lukyn.  Daly  has  no  doubts,  and  Drew  makes  one  of  the  hits  of 
his  life. 

*'LovE  ON  Crutches"  was  succeeded  on  February  7, 
1885,  by  George  Farquhar's  "Recruiting  Officer,"  written 
in  1705,  and  played  in  New  York  as  early  as  1732,  then 
in  1750,  again  in  1792,  and  lastly  in  1843.  Its  first  per- 
formance in  the  days  of  Queen  Anne  was  by  a  famous 
cast  —  Colley  Cibber  as  Captain  Brazen,  Wilks  as  Cap- 
tain Plume,  Estcourt  as  Sergeant  Kite,  and  the  immortal 
Mrs.  Oldfield  and  Mrs.  Mountfort  as  Sylvia  and  Rose. 
In  Garrick's  time  Margaret  Woffington  made  her  London 
debut  as  Sylvia.  At  the  Park  Theatre  in  1843  Sylvia 
was  played  by  Mrs.  Hunt,  who  afterwards  married 
John  Drew  the  elder  and  became  the  mother  of  the  young 
actor  who  now,  1885,  appeared  at  Daly's  as  Plume. 
Miss  Rehan  was  Sylvia,  Miss  Virginia  Dreher  Melinda, 

381 


382  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Miss  May  Fielding  Rose,  Miss  May  Irwin  Lucy,  Miss 
Jean  Gordon  Nell,  Skinner  Worthy,  Parkes  Brazen,  Lewis 
Kite,  Fisher  Justice  Ballance,  Stapleton  Scale,  Gilbert 
Bullock,  Wilks  Coster,  Bond  Tummas,  Beekman  William, 
and  Master  Alfonso  Tycho. 

For  color  and  action,  the  play  will  be  always  attrac- 
tive if  mounted  with  the  taste  Daly  now  bestowed  upon 
it;  and  its  humorous  scenes  will  survive  the  elimination 
of  many  of  its  lines ;  for  the  effort  to  refine  the  coarseness 
of  its  wit  is,  as  lago  says,  "like  plucking  bird-lime  from 
frieze."  The  revival  excited  great  interest  among  old 
actors  and  old  theatre-goers.  John  Gilbert  wrote  Mr. 
Daly  that  he  had  seen  it  at  the  Tremont  Theatre  in  Boston 
over  fifty  years  before  and  wished  to  come  to  a  matinee  at 
Daly's.  Chief  Justice  Charles  P.  Daly,  an  authority 
upon  the  drama  as  well  as  law,  literature,  history,  and 
geography,  wrote  : 

"84  Clinton  Place  (8th  Str) 

New  York,  February  13th,  1885. 
My  dear  Mr  Daly 

The  first  theatre  in  America,  as  far  as  known,  was  opened 
in  this  City  with  Farquhar's  comedy  of  'The  Recruiting  Officer' 
on  the  evening  of  the  6th  of  December,  1732,  eighteen  years 
before  the  arrival  of  Hallam's  Company,  by  whom,  Dunlap  in 
his  'History  of  the  American  Theatre'  says,  the  drama  was 
introduced  in  America.  All  that  I  know  further  about  this 
first  theatrical  representation  in  this  Country  is  that  the  part 
of  Worthy  was  played  by  Mr.  Thomas  Heady,  a  perruque 
maker  of  the  City. 

In  my  monograph  'When  was  the  drama  introduced  in 
America,'  printed  in  1864,  and  of  which  I  regret  to  say  I  have 
not  a  copy  to  send  you,  I  give  an  account  of  two  companies 
who  played  in  this  City  in  the  years  1750  and  1 75 1,  prior  to  the 
arrival  of  Hallam's  Company  which  was  in  June  1752. 

A  Mr.  Hilton  who  is  interested  in  the  formation  of  a  Dunlap 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  383 

Publication  Society  has  written  me  a  letter  respecting  the  re- 
printing of  my  monograph,  and  if  it  is  reprinted  I  will  give  all 
that  I   have  subsequently  ascertained   respecting  the  theatre 

of  1732-1733. 

Very  truly  yours 

Chas.  P.  Daly. 
Augustin  Daly  Esqr." 

"The  Recruiting  Officer"  afforded  Miss  Rehan  an  op- 
portunity to  appear  in  the  third  of  the  series  of  cavalier 
parts  in  which  she  was  so  successful,  and  in  one  of  which, 
Hypolita  ("She  Would  and  She  Would  Not"),  she  had 
captured  the  London  public.  Farquhar's  comedy  was 
given  until  February  28,  then  Gibber's  for  a  brief 
period,  followed  by  Wycherly's.  Mr.  Skinner  was  now 
Harcourt  in  "The  Gountry  Girl,"  and  Miss  Annie  Hooper 
Lucy.  In  "She  Would  and  She  Would  Not"  Mr.  Skin- 
ner was  cast  for  Don  Octavio,  Miss  Kingdon  for  Donna 
Rosara,  and  Miss  Gordon  for  Flora.  A  farce  called  "A 
Woman's  Won't"  was  played  with  "The  Gountry  Girl" 
by  Lewis,  Skinner,  Mrs.  Gilbert,  Gilbert,  Miss  Fielding, 
and  Miss  Irwin.  It  had  been  a  successful  trifle  in  Ger- 
many and  France,  and  now  became  a  favorite  here. 

During  this  season  Mr.  John  A.  DufT  retired  from  Daly's 
Theatre  to  join  his  son  James,  who  had  taken  the  lease 
of  the  new  Standard  Theatre  on  Sixth  Avenue.  Augustin 
purchased  the  interests  represented  by  his  father-in-law 
in  Daly's  Theatre,  and  thereafter  remained  its  sole  pro- 
prietor. During  the  summer  he  expended  a  large  sum 
in  erecting  a  fireproof  wall  between  the  stage  and  the 
auditorium,  and  in  other  improvements  to  secure  the 
safety  of  the  audience. 

We  now  come  to  the  production  (March  4,  1885)  of 
"A  Night  Off,"  a  version  by  Daly  of  "Der  Raub  der 
Sabinerinnen"   of    Franz   and   Paul   von    Schonthan.     If 


384  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

we  can  Imagine  audiences  really  "convulsed  with  merri- 
ment," as  the  reporters  say,  and  recall  critics  Inditing 
their  reports  under  the  headline  "A  Bonanza  of  laughter," 
we  can  get  some  Idea  of  the  impression  made  by  this  ex- 
quisite succession  of  uproariously  funny  as  well  as  deli- 
cately witty  scenes.  Miss  Rehan  as  Nisbe,  Miss  Dreher 
as  Angelica,  Mrs.  Gilbert  as  Airs.  Babbitt,  and  Allss  Irwin 
as  Susan,  Mr.  Drew  as  Jack  Mulberry,  Mr.  Lewis  as 
Professor  Babbitt,  Mr.  Skinner  as  Damask,  Mr.  Leclercq 
as  Snap,  and  Mr.  Fisher  as  Lord  Mulberry,  made  the  first 
success  of  this  remarkable  play  in  America.  The  Incom- 
parable variety  of  Miss  Rehan's  ingenues  no  repetition 
of  such  characters  could  exhaust.  Drew's  part  was  like 
the  Rovers  and  Young  Rapids  of  old  comedy,  and  was 
spiritedly  given.  Miss  Irwin  made  her  greatest  hit  at 
Daly's  as  the  ubiquitous  and  enthusiastic  Susan. 

On  the  last  night  of  this  extraordinarily  successful 
season,  April  20,  1885,  a  special  epilogue  written  by 
Edgar  Fawcett  was  spoken  by  all  the  characters,  and  the 
company  took  Its  leave  for  a  summer  tour  which  was  to 
embrace  two  weeks  In  Philadelphia,  two  In  Boston,  one 
in  Brooklyn,  and  five  In  Chicago.  After  this  they  were 
to  open  in  San  Francisco  on  July  13. 

Miss  Clara  Morris  returned  to  Mr.  Daly's  management 
on  April  20,  1885,  for  the  second  time  since  she  had  ceased 
to  be  a  member  of  the  regular  company.  We  remember 
that  in  1875  she  appeared  In  a  version  of  Mosenthal's 
"Deborah";  and  now  she  was  to  create  the  part  of 
Denise  in  the  drama  of  that  name  by  Alexander  Dumas. 
The  cast  of  the  play,  besides  Miss  Morris  as  Denise, 
Included  Helene  Stoepel  (Bijou  Heron)  as  Martha, 
Blanche  Thorne  as  Clarisse,  Effie  Germon  as  Madame  de 
Thausette,  Mrs.  Thomas  WhIfFen  as  Madame  Brissot, 
Miss  Agnes   Perring  as   Madame  de  Pont/errand,  A.   E. 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  385 

LIpman  as  Fernand  de  Thausette,  Frank  Losee  as  Thou- 
venin,  H.  A.  Weaver  as  Brissot,  Parkes  as  Pontferrand, 
and  Wilks  as  the  Servant.  The  play  as  a  play  was  a  model 
of  the  unities.  The  action  occurred  on  one  spot  in  one 
day.  The  dialogue  was  direct  and  incisive,  and  the  story 
was  touching.  With  all  this,  and  the  fame  of  the  star 
to  recommend  it,  it  did  not  make  the  success  anticipated 
by  actress  and  manager.  Had  it  been  played  by  Miss 
Morris  ten  years  before,  it  might  have  made  a  wonderful 
impression.  It  was  not  the  part  for  a  mature  actress. 
The  criticisms  were  generally  favorable,  one  or  two  most 
appreciative,  but  there  were  exceptions  in  which  the 
physical  fitness  of  the  star  for  the  role  was  oiTensively 
dwelt  upon.  Miss  Morris  was  suffering  at  this  time  from 
an  accident  to  her  foot  and  ankle  which  she  had  sustained 
in  Boston,  and  which  almost  crippled  her,  and  from  an 
attack  of  neuralgia  —  all  of  which  she  pluckily  disre- 
garded to  keep  her  engagement  with  the  public. 

As  to  the  pecuniary  results  of  this  engagement,  they 
were  far  above  those  of  her  season  in  this  same  theatre 
when  it  was  the  old  Broadway  and  under  a  different 
management  seven  years  before,  and  she  played  Jane 
Eyre  with  all  the  vigor  and  charm  of  her  prime. 

The  present  tour  of  the  Daly  company  was  marked 
by  extraordinary  tributes  from  the  press.  It  was  said 
that  his  company  honored  the  stage  at  home  and  abroad, 
exhibited  delicate  tact,  continual  ease,  the  graces  of  good 
society,  and  a  perfect  mastery  of  their  art;  and  that  the 
Irving  company,  in  its  particular  field,  did  not  reach  to 
so  high  a  degree  of  excellence.  It  is  not  out  of  place  here 
to  quote  what  Leander  Richardson,  writing  from  New 
York  as  correspondent  of  the  Boston  Herald,  said  of 
Augustin's  personal  appearance,  manner,  and  history  in 
1885: 


386  THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"Among  all  New  York  managers  old  and  young  there  is 
none  whose  face  is  so  seldom  seen  and  so  unfamiliar  to  the 
general  public  as  that  of  Augustin  Daly.  Mr.  Daly  has  been 
managing  theatres  in  the  metropolis  longer  than  any  other 
man  now  alive,  possibly  barring  Lester  Wallack.  In  the  double 
capacity  of  author  and  director  his  name  has  become  better 
known  in  all  likelihood  than  that  of  anybody  else  in  the  same 
line  of  work.  Yet  not  one  person  in  a  hundred  meeting  him 
on  Broadway  would  know  him  at  all,  and  no  stranger  would 
suspect  him  of  being  the  well  known  man  he  is.  To  look  at 
Daly  anybody  would  take  him  to  be  32  or  33  years  old,  but  if 
he  isn't  past  that  time  of  life  he  must  have  been  a  full-fledged 
manager  when  he  was  about  eighteen.  He  never  airs  himself 
in  public  and  he  never  even  comes  before  the  curtain  of  his 
own  theatre  unless  compelled  to  do  so  by  the  positive  demands 
of  the  audience.  Daly's  position  as  a  manager  is  at  the  pres- 
ent time  in  all  probability  more  desirable  than  that  of  any  other 
man  in  the  United  States.  All  this  is  the  result  of  the  most 
untiring  industry  and  the  most  complete  tenacity  of  purpose 
that  I  have  ever  seen  exhibited  and,  if  Mr.  Daly's  success  in 
life  teaches  anything,  it  is  that  he  who  starts  out  with  a  definite 
purpose  and  steadily  seeks  to  accomplish  it  through  devotion 
to  duty  must  in  the  long  run  win.  Augustin  Daly  used  to  be 
a  newspaper  man  in  the  days  when  the  Bohemian  Club  flour- 
ished and  held  their  bacchanalian  symposiums  at  PfafFs. 
Daly  was  in  those  days  a  tall,  slender  youngster  in  delicate 
health.  He  was  an  exceedingly  unpopular  man  with  the 
writers  who  used  to  pretty  nearly  control  things.  Daly  would 
not  travel  with  any  of  them.  He  was  telling  me  not  long  ago, 
to  what  an  extent  journalism  had  improved  since  the  days  he 
worked  in  that  field.  Then,  he  said,  a  writer  had  to  put  in  all 
his  time  and  command  peculiar  facilities  to  earn  $60.  per  week, 
while  nowadays  there  are  writers  who  are  paid  for  their  work 
upon  a  number  of  papers  and  have  little  difficulty  in  clearing 
from  $7,000.  to  $15,000.  a  year. 

On  first  nights  Mr.  Daly  is  generally  called  before  the  cur- 
tain before  the  play  is  over.     When  he  comes  out,  tall,  slender. 


AlGlSTlX    IMLV 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  387 

pale  and  usually  embarrassed,  about  half  the  audience  say 
'Who  is  that?  It  can't  be  Daly.'  .  .  .  They  look  upon  a 
youthful  appearing  man  who  is  negligently  dressed  and  who  has 
obviously  just  been  at  work  upon  the  scene.  He  is  generally 
dusty,  and  not  infrequently  there  is  a  big  dab  of  whitewash 
or  some  other  color  rubbed  from  the  scene  upon  some  part  of 
his  clothing.  Personal  appearance  is  something  Mr.  Daly 
has  never  studied,  and  if  it  were  necessary  that  he  should  wear 
a  blue  blouse  in  preparing  his  stage  for  the  view  of  the  public, 
he  would  accept  a  call  before  the  curtain  in  that  costume. 

Unlike  most  theatrical  managers  who  go  in  for  making 
extensive  friendships  in  order  to  help  their  receipts,  Mr.  Daly 
believes  in  conducting  himself  with  as  much  regard  for  his  own 
privacy  as  would  be  expected  of  ...  a  man  occupying  a 
high  position  in  any  other  calling." 

This  year  Boston's  poise  was  completely  destroyed. 
"A  Night  Off"  caused  the  audience  to  roll  about  ecstati- 
cally, and  then  cheer  Daly  and  wave  their  handkerchiefs. 

From  Chicago  he  wrote  : 

"We  had  a  glorious  opening  here  last  night.  Love  on 
Crutches  made  the  biggest  hit  of  all.  All  the  papers  are  unan- 
imous. I  had  two  calls  —  even  greater  than  the  Company 
calls,  and,  as  in  Boston,  they  cheered  me.  This  attention  on 
the  part  of  the  public  is  quite  intoxicating  —  in  a  mild  way. 
But  I  am  sobered  by  the  thought  that  those  two  little  souls 
who  had  grown  of  late  years  to  enjoy  my  successes  even  more 
than  their  papa  did  are  no  longer  here  to  share  my  gladness." 

In  San  Francisco  Daly  was  confronted  by  a  combina- 
tion of  theatrical  managers  which  declined  to  admit  his 
company  to  their  houses  except  upon  equal  sharing  terms, 
when  he  was  getting  in  the  great  cities  of  the  East  sixty- 
five  to  seventy  per  cent,  and  the  enormous  cost  of  trans- 
portation to  the  Pacific  justified  even  better  terms.  He 
refused  to  submit  to  their  demands,  and  to  their   aston- 


388  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Ishment  hired  a  minstrel  hall  in  Bush  Street  (left  out  of 
the  calculations  of  the  Trust)  and  played  there  to  jammed 
houses  while  the  combination  was  feeding  on  air ! 

In  the  course  of  this  eventful  year,  Daly  did  the 
American  playwrights  and  the  American  playgoers  signal 
service.  He  broke  up  an  establishment  in  Chicago  for 
the  sale  of  pirated  copies  of  popular  plays,  and  his  act 
led  to  the  formation  of  a  protective  society  of  managers, 
publishers,  and  authors ;  and  he  invented  and  put  in 
operation  a  scheme  to  defeat  speculation.  He  had  been 
a  consistent  foe  of  that  form  of  monopoly,  even  obtain- 
ing judicial  recognition  of  the  manager's  right  to  exclude 
from  his  theatre  purchasers  from  sidewalk  operators. 
But  those  traders  had  so  many  ways  of  eluding  detection 
in  buying  seats  at  the  box-office  to  sell  at  a  hundred  per 
cent  profit  on  the  streets,  that  Augustin  devised  the  fol- 
lowing plan :  The  purchaser  of  seats  for  a  particular 
night  received  simply  a  slip  of  paper  with  a  number  on  it, 
exchangeable  at  night  for  the  actual  ticket  purchased. 
As  speculators  could  not  sell  slips  containing  merely  a 
numeral,  and  no  indication  of  the  number  or  location  of 
seats,  they  retired  from  the  field. 

Plays  came  this  season  from  Robert  Buchanan,  Henry 
Guy  Carleton,  Mrs.  J.  Campbell  Verplanck  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  Mrs.  Burton  Harrison.  The  celebrated  Thomas 
Nast  broached  the  subject  of  an  entertainment  in  which 
he  might  appear  and  exhibit  his  facility  in  caricature. 

The  aspirants  for  a  place  in  the  Daly  company  were 
numerous  this  season.  Among  them  was  the  daughter  of 
Joaquin  Miller,  and  Mr.  Brander  Matthews  wrote  to  Mr. 
Daly  in  favor  of  a  very  young  daughter  of  the  late  Harry 
Beckett,  comedian,  "Knowing  how  hospitable  you  have 
been  to  the  children  of  Mrs.  John  Drew,  Matilda  Heron 
and  other  favorites  of  the  public  and  knowing  too  that 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  389 

in  your  theatre  the  girl  will  be  in  better  company  and  will 
be  better  taught  than  anywhere  else."  Edwin  Booth  in- 
troduced Herr  Briining  of  the  Residenz  Theatre,  Berlin 
(a  member  of  the  company  which  had  supported  Booth 
during  his  engagement  there),  who  was  now  seeking  an 
opening  on  the  English  stage. 

One  of  the  oldest,  as  well  as  one  of  the  faithfuUest  of 
those  who  had  shared  my  brother's  fortunes,  left  the 
scene  forever  this  year:  "Poor  old  Beekman.  How  we 
will  miss  him.  The  little  he  had  to  do  he  always  did  well. 
We  could  have  better  spared  a  better  man,"  wrote  the 
anonymous   "Fellers   What   Be's   Around." 

Augustin  was  planning  at  this  time  his  "Life  of  Mar- 
garet Wofhngton,"  a  personage  for  whom  he  had  a  ro- 
mantic attachment,  though  she  had  died  tragically  upon 
the  stage  nearly  half  a  century  before  he  was  born. 

My  poor  brother  had  not  yet  got  out  of  the  shadow  of 
his  great  affliction.  On  August  15,  in  a  long  letter 
covering  many  matters,  I  find  this  passage  : 

"For  the  first  time  in  all  my  journeyings  I  come  home  to  an 
empty  nest.  It  will  be  years  before  I  can  ever  talk  or  write 
to  you  of  the  feeling  that  comes  over  me,  day  and  night  — 
when  I  am  alone  —  and  think  upon  my  absent  boys." 

One  of  the  firmest  believers  in  Daly's  star  of  destiny, 
W.  J.  Florence,  was  himself  an  actor  of  almost  infinite 
accomplishments,  and  he  brought  to  Daly's  summer 
season,  1885,  his  Captain  Cuttle,  Pinto  P.  Perkins,  and 
Bardwell  Slote,  assisted  by  his  wife  (Malvina  Pray 
forty  years  before,  and  now  alert  as  ever)  in  Susan 
Nipper,  Miss  Matilda  Starr,  and  Mrs.  Gilflory.  The 
theatre  had  been  lavishly  embellished  since  the  close  of 
the  last  season.  From  first  to  last  Daly  spent  a  fortune 
upon  this  property  in  improvements  and  decorations.     A 


390  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

row  of  Parisian  boxes  was  erected  at  the  back  of  the  par- 
quet, and  the  doors  were  ornamented  with  wood  carv- 
ings representing  scenes  from  the  favorite  plays  of  the 
theatre  —  a  costly  novelty  which  none  of  the  general 
public  had  time  to  observe. 

Pinero's  capital  farce,  "The  Magistrate,"  was  rehearsed 
in  Philadelphia.  Augustin  urged  me  to  run  on  and  give 
him  suggestions.  The  boy  part,  Cis  Farrington,  would 
have  been  played  by  a  girl  according  to  custom  and  be- 
cause of  the  difficulty  of  finding  boys  fit  to  act  —  male 
adolescents  are  usually  a  shame-faced  lot  in  public  — 
had  not  Pinero  engaged  Hamilton  Bell  for  the  part,  and 
expressed  his  distaste  for  a  woman  playing  a  boy  in  a 
modern  piece.  Bell  was  capital.  Pinero  had  some  doubts 
about  Drew  in  Colonel  Lukyn : 

"With  regard  to  Mr.  Drew,  if  that  gentleman  can  give  us 
anything  like  what  I  want  Col.  Lukyn  to  be  and  what  for  the 
effect  of  the  piece  he  must  be,  why,  by  all  means,  let  him  play 
it !  What  reason  can  I  have  for  objecting  ?  All  I  have  said 
and  still  say,  is  that  I  fear  Mr.  Drew  cannot  give  us  the  Lukyn 
we  want,  and  that  Mr.  Fisher  perhaps  can.  And  there  I  have 
left  the  question  with  you.  ...  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  hear 
that  you  are  not  angry  with  me  past  redemption. 

Sincerely  yours 

Arthur  W.  Pinero." 

Daly  adhered  to  Drew,  who  made  a  display  of  new 
ability  and  power  that  surprised  everybody  but  his 
manager. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

"The  Magistrate"  opens  season  of  1885-1886;  a  furore.  Brander 
Matthews'  letter.  General  Porter's  effort  to  get  places  for  the 
opening.  First  Shakespearian  revival  in  this  theatre.  Cast. 
Oakey  Hall's  anecdote.  This  version  of  the  "Merry  Wives"  pri- 
vately printed  with  a  fac-simile  of  the  first  quarto.  Winter's 
historical  preface.  Modernization  and  sumptuousness.  Ought 
the  Wives  to  be  richly  apparelled  .?  Fisher  as  Falstaff.  Benefits; 
how  got  up.  "She  Would  and  She  Would  Not."  "Nancy  & 
Co."  Daly  commended  for  his  adaptation.  Close  of  the  season. 
Performances  by  Miss  Rosina  Yokes  and  her  company,  including 
Brandon  Thomas.  The  Daly  company  sails  for  Europe,  this 
time  to  invade  Germany  and  France  after  revisiting  London. 

On  October  7,  1885,  "The  Magistrate"  was  produced. 
The  crush  to  witness  it  was  very  great,  and  as  the  late 
comers  thronging  the  lobby  heard  the  first  bars  of  the 
overture  they  almost  "rushed"  the  ticket-taker's  gate. 
The  fame  of  its  popularity  in  London  had  preceded  the 
play.  Arthur  Wallack  told  the  newspaper  men  on  his 
return  from  England  that  Daly  had  secured  the  only 
success  of  the  season,  Pinero  had  reserved  it  for  my 
brother  in  recognition  of  his  excellent  production  of 
"The  Squire"  and  his  faithful  attempts  with  "Boys  and 
Girls"  and  "Lords  and  Commons."  The  play  was 
unquestionably  worthy  of  the  favor  it  received.  Up- 
roariously funny  and  scrupulously  clean,  it  was  a  model 
of  healthy  entertainment.  The  theme  of  modern  farce 
invariably  involves  some  concealment,  deception,  dis- 
covery, pursuit,  and  hair-breadth  escape.  The  problem 
is  to  invent  a  plausible  excuse  for  all  this  without  resort 
to   our   French   neighbors'   expedient,   conjugal   disorder. 

391 


392  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Brander  Matthews,  who  had  seen  the  play  in  London, 
wrote  to  Augustin : 

"It  seems  to  me  —  and  I  have  seen  it  now  three  times  — 
one  of  the  best  farces  in  the  Enghsh  language.  This  is  high 
praise  I  know,  but  I  mean  it.  I  think  that  in  parts  it  is  much 
better  acted  by  your  company  than  by  the  fine  company  at  the 
Court.  Mr.  Skinner  for  example  made  a  great  deal  more  of 
his  part  than  did  Mr.  Kerr ;  and  the  whole  second  act  appeared 
to  me  to  be  more  briskly  and  brilliantly  acted  here  than  there." 

The  crowd  on  the  first  night  has  been  described. 
General  Horace  Porter  had  written  in  September  : 

"Greeting  on  your  return  and  congratulations  on  your  mar- 
velous and  deserved  success," 

with  a  request  to  have  seats  saved  for  him  for  the  opening. 
Later,  Augustin  was  admonished  that  the  request  had 
evidently  been  overlooked  : 

"is  Broad  St.,  New  York. 

^        ^.  Oct  2d  1885. 

Dear  Sir 

To  engage  three  orchestra  seats  for  your  opening  night  next 
Wednesday,  I  tried  to  take  Time  by  the  forelock  by  going  to 
the  box-office  the  day  before  the  time  advertised  for  beginning 
the  sale  of  tickets,  but  I  found  that  Time  had  evidently  had  his 
hair  cut  and  the  forelock  was  gone.  The  youthful  financier 
in  the  safe  retreat  of  the  box-office  looked  at  me  from  the  small 
hole  of  his  vantage-ground  and  informed  me  that  all  the  good 
seats,  meaning  the  front  part  of  the  orchestra,  had  already  been 
disposed  of.  I  asked  him  if  he  thought  you  had  much  influ- 
ence with  the  administration  and  could  help  me.  He  was 
evidently  not  apt  at  conundrums,  and  looked  like  a  person  dis- 
posed to  take  the  papers  and  reserve  his  decision.  He  satis- 
fied himself  with  a  statement  of  facts,  namely,  that  you  were 
in  Phila.  I  told  him  I  had  myself  seen  you  there  at  the  Conti- 
nental Hotel,  and  that  you  did  look  for  all  the  world  like  a  man 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 


393 


who  was  in  Philadelphia,  but  I  ventured  the  hope  that  you 
might  return,  that  even  the  Prodigal  Son  returned,  and  that 
you  might  still  be  in  time  to  serve  me.  He  evidently  felt  that 
you  would  not  stand  much  chance  of  seeing  that  play  yourself 
unless  you  returned  pretty  quick.  He  was,  to  be  truthful, 
very  polite,  but  my  faith  was  so  shattered  in  his  ability  to  do 
anything  for  me,  that  I  have  decided  to  add  to  the  weight  of 
your  managerial  tribulations  by  writing  you  and  asking  you 
to  reserve  if  possible  three  orchestra  seats  for  the  opening  night, 
close  down  to  the  front,  even  if  it  brings  our  knees  close  up 
against  the  big  drum.  I  want  to  be  near  enough  to  see  the 
wrinkles  in  Mr.  Lewis's  coat.  .  .  . 

With  kindest  regards  to  your  theatrical  family, 

Yours  very  truly, 

Horace  Porter. 
Augustin  Daly  Esqr." 

While  the  prodigious  success  of  "The  Magistrate" 
continued,  the  manager  devoted  every  day  to  the  prep- 
aration of  his  first  Shakespearian  production  at  this 
theatre,  "The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor."  If  my  readers 
remember,  it  w^as  a  feature  of  the  first  Fifth  Avenue 
Theatre  (1872).  Now,  as  then,  Fisher  was  the  Falstaff^ 
Lewis    Slender^   and   Mrs.   Gilbert  Mistress   Quickly. 


Daly's  Fifth 

Daly's  Theatre 

Ave.  Theatre 

January 

Nov.  1872 

1886 

Sir  John  i 

Falstaff 

Charles  Fisher 

Charles  Fisher 

Fenton 

B.  T.  Ringgold 

Hamilton  Bell 

Shallow 

D.  Whiting 

John  Moore 

Slender 

James  Lewis 

James  Lewis 

Ford 

George  Clarke 

John  Drew 

Page 

Louis  James 

Otis  Skinner 

Sir  Hugh 

Evans 

Wm.  Davidge 

Chas.  Leclercq 

Doctor  Ca 

'ius 

W.  J.  Lemoyne 

Wm.  Gilbert 

Host  of  the  Garter 

Owen  Fawcett 

Fredk.  Bond 

394 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 


Pistol 
Nym 
Bardolph 
Falstaff^s  page 
Simple 
Rugby 

Mistress  Ford 
Mistress  Page 
Anne  Page 
Mistress  Quickly 


Daly's  Fifth 

Ave.  Theatre 

Nov.  1872 

George  DeVere 

H.  Burnett,  Jr. 

J.  R.  Mackey 

Jennie  Yeamans 

W.  Beekman 

F.  Chapman 

Miss  Fanny  Davenport 

Miss  Fanny  Morant 

Miss  Sara  Jewett 

Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert 


Daly's  Theatre 

January 

1886 

Geo.  Parkes 
John  Wood 
H.  Roberts 
Bijou  Fernandez 
Wm.  Collier 
E.  P.  Wilks 
Miss  Ada  Rehan 
Miss  Virginia  Dreher 
Miss  Edith  Kingdon 
Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert 


Fisher  was  a  worthy  successor,  but  in  no  sense  a  copy, 
of  Hackett,  the  most  noted  Falstaff  of  the-  American 
stage,  who  had  many  imitators  after  his  departure  from 
the  theatre  of  this  world.  Oakey  Hall  tells  of  one  in  a 
letter  to  Daly  this  year  : 

"One  day  when  I  was  trying  a  case  before  his  (Hackett's) 
son  the  Recorder,  a  Philadelphia  actor  ^  whom  I  only  recall  as 
the  husband  of  Charlotte  Barnes  and  who  had  a  deep  Forrestian 
voice  (so  in  vogue  once)  came  into  the  Courtroom  and  took  (a) 
seat  on  the  bench  beside  the  Recorder,  and  during  a  lull  in  the 
proceedings  said  in  his  deep  voice  (to  be  heard  all  over  the  Court 
room,  but  intended  as  an  aside)  'John,  I've  come  to  inquire  about 
your  father's  patent  Falstaffian  stomach.  Who  has  it  .'*  I'd  like 
to  buy  it.'  In  a  moment  the  Courtroom  burst  into  a  roar  and 
the  actor  retired  in  triumph,  for  what  actor  does  not  enjoy  a 
laugh  for  an  exit.''  I  am  now  just  where  you  began  —  living 
by  my  pen  and  skirmishing  among  the  newspapers  for  the  tra- 
ditional pittance  and  magazines  and  rehearsing  Triplett.  I 
hear  that  you  greatly  flourish.     Good, 

Heartily,  the  old 

O.  K." 

» Perhaps  E.  S.  Connor.    J.  F.  D. 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  395 

The  costumes  for  this  revival  were  designed  by  Hamilton 
Bell  from  approved  authorities.  A  facsimile  of  the  first 
quarto  (1602)  in  photo-lithography,  bound  up  with  the 
present  prompt-book,  was  printed  for  distribution  to  the 
first-night  auditors.  Mr.  William  Winter  wrote  a  pref- 
ace for  it. 

The  sumptuousness  of  this  production  and  the  modern- 
ism of  the  acting  were  criticised.  The  spectator,  it  was 
said,  would  be  charmed  by  Miss  Rehan  and  Miss  Dreher, 
but  would  never  suspect  that  these  dazzling  young 
beauties  were  intended  for  those  noted  gossips  whom 
FalstaflF  himself  —  and  his  tastes  were  not  fastidious  — 
admitted  were  neither  young  nor  beautiful.  Drew  too, 
it  was  observed,  was  exquisite  in  dress  and  a  courtier  in 
carriage,  and  Skinner  a  swaggering  young  prig  who  might 
be  the  lover  of  his  own  daughter  Anne. 

All  this  might  be  excusable  in  a  very  young  journalist 
to  whom  forty  is  a  patriarchal  age  in  man  and  to  whom 
there  is  no  youth  in  woman  after  the  fifth  lustrum.  As 
to  the  costuming,  the  merry  wives  and  their  husbands  are 
people  of  substance.  Ford  and  Page  being  described  as 
having  "legions  of  angels"  and  being  "all  gold  and 
bounty,"  and  Falstaff  proposing  to  bleed  them  through  their 
wives  and  to  make  them  his  exchequers  —  his  East  and 
West  Indies  —  and  trade  to  them  both.  The  wives  are 
described  as  ruling  their  husbands'  purses.  The  costumes 
of  the  wives  were  copied  from  the  Boydell  plates. 

As  to  modernism :  The  Daly  players  were  expressly 
trained  to  be  natural  in  speech,  manner,  and  action  In 
old  comedy,  and  it  Is  safe  to  say  that  under  that  instruc- 
tion they  came  nearer  to  a  reproduction  of  the  play  as 
Shakespeare  staged  it  than  by  affecting  an  artificial 
method.  The  lines  of  the  play  suggest  nothing  stilted. 
It  Is   questionable   whether   the   rhythmical   chant  once 


396  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

adopted  by  some  performers  in  delivering  blank  verse, 
and  referred  to  by  Gibber  in  his  "Apology,"  Ghapter  IV, 
and  by  his  editors  in  the  notes,  represented  what  was 
heard  even  in  tragedy  in  the  days  of  Elizabeth  and  James, 
or  that  it  was  other  than  an  affectation  of  a  few  per- 
formers. I  heard  something  like  it  in  William  Wheat- 
ley's  delivery  and  later  in  that  of  Mrs.  Scott-Siddons, 
but  no  one  else  thought  it  attractive  enough  to  acquire. 

In  the  majesty  of  his  person  Fisher  was  created  for 
FalstafF.  No  short,  round  man,  no  dumpy  sot,  could 
impose  upon  as  many  people  of  distinction  as  Sir  John 
did,  or  continue  to  have  his  lack  of  every  virtue  con- 
doned and  to  find  his  roguery,  instead  of  exciting  detes- 
tation, covering  his  victims  with  derision.  Fisher's 
voice,  too,  was  one  of  singularly  tender  quality.  His 
description  of  his  suffering  in  the  buck-basket  was  almost 
tragic.  His  modulated  utterance  at  times  seemed  indis- 
tinct, but  his  action  supplied  the  words.  In  his  glance, 
too,  rested  much  of  the  effect  of  his  performance.  His 
Falstaff  explained  the  problem  of  a  character  which  could 
not  help  being  weak  and  wicked  or,  being  found  out, 
forgiven. 

Brander  Matthews  was  moved  by  this  production  to 
say : 

"Beautiful  were  both  the  Merry  Wives  and  beautiful  was 
sweet  Anne  Page  —  indeed  I  do  not  think  I  ever  saw  three 
prettier  women  on  the  stage  together  than  Miss  Rehan,  Miss 
Dreher  and  Miss  Kingdon.  Beautiful  too  were  the  costumes 
and  the  scenery,  especially  the  first  act. 

The  thought  which  possessed  me  chiefly  toward  the  end  of 
the  performance  was  this  :  —  How  the  critics  would  tear  the 
'Merry  Wives'  to  pieces  if  it  had  been  a  new  American  play! 
They  would  be  unanimous  in  declaring  much  of  its  humor  cheap 
and  flippant  and  many  of  its  scenes  altogether  too  farcical  for 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  397 

comedy.     Fortunately    Shakespeare    was    not    an    American 
dramatist. 

One  of  the  best  things  in  the  performance  on  Thursday  — 
it  seems  to  me  —  was  Mr.  Bond's  Mine  Host  of  the  Garter; 
it  was  delightfully  unctuous  and  rollicking." 

"The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor"  was  played  until 
February  13,  1886.  During  that  time  the  company 
volunteered  for  the  benefit  of  the  Actors'  Fund,  this 
time  at  the  Madison  Square  Theatre,  now  managed 
exclusively  by  Mr.  A.  M.  Palmer.  On  every  occasion  of 
a  benefit  the  part  contributed  by  each  actor  is  really 
voluntary,  and  an  act  of  individual  benevolence.  An 
announcement  of  the  proposed  benefit  is  posted  in  the 
Green  Room  of  each  theatre  with  an  invitation  to  the 
members  of  the  company,  willing  to  participate,  to  sub- 
scribe their  names.  After  the  names  are  signed,  the  play 
is  selected  and  cast  by  the  manager.  This  time,  as  in- 
variably, every  member  of  Daly's  company  volunteered. 
The  second  act  of  "Love  on  Crutches"  was  contributed, 
while  Palmer's  company  gave  the  first  act  of  "Engaged" 
and  Wallack's  the  fifth  act  of  "The  Rivals." 

A  brief  revival  of  "She  Would  and  She  Would  Not," 
with  Miss  Rehan  and  Mr.  Drew  in  a  'curtain-raiser' 
called  "A  Wet  Blanket/'  followed  Shakespeare,  and  was 
in  time  succeeded  by  a  short  season  of  "The  Country 
Girl"  with  Mrs.  Gilbert  and  Mr.  Lewis  in  another  lever 
de  rideau^  "A  Sudden  Shower"  ;  and  then  the  final  novelty 
of  the  season,  "Nancy  &  Co.,"  was  introduced  to  a  de- 
lighted audience  on  the  evening  of  February  24,  1886. 

The  adaptation  of  this  very  original  play  from  the 
German  farce  by  Rosen,  transferred  the  scenes  and  the 
characters  to  New  York,  and  necessitated  a  complete 
rewriting  of  the  book,  as  in  the  case  of  all  the  German 
plays.     The    brilliant    comedy    action    immediately    won 


398  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

the  critics  and  the  public.  Of  Mr.  Drew's  comedy  work 
it  is  certain  that  no  praise  could  be  too  high ;  its  finish 
and  lightness  lent  to  the  scenes  between  him  and  Miss 
Rehan  such  effect  that  an  accomplished  writer  observed  : 
"It  is  always  a  happy  fortune  when  Miss  Rehan  and  Mr. 
Drew  play  opposite  each  other.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  name  two  comedians  who,  when  pitted  against  one 
another  in  a  play,  so  accentuate  and  develop  the  humor- 
ous points  and  intentions  of  each  other." 

To  Daly  as  adapter  was  attributed  the  success  of  the 
play  itself,  for  having  so  cleverly  treated  his  materials 
and  so  ingenuously  localized  the  "argument"  that  it 
"became  his  comedy  for  all  practical  purposes,"  He  was 
praised  for  unrivalled  cleverness  in  dialogue  as  well  as 
for  the  creation  of  innumerable  bits  of  action  which  gave 
sparkle  to  the  situations.  He  was  commended  for  "the 
absolute  mastery  which  he  has  obtained  over  the  condi- 
tions of  stage  representation."  The  question,  what  share 
Mr.  Daly  had  in  these  adaptations,  was  answered  :  "The 
facts  are  that  he  takes  the  salient  points  of  the  original, 
invests  the  different  parts  with  new  characteristics  suit- 
able to  his  company,  and  so  alters  the  language  that  when 
the  piece  is  presented  before  the  New  York  audience,  it 
practically  contains  only  the  germ  of  the  original  idea"; 
and  it  was  afftrmed  that  "Mr.  Daly  adds  the  delicate 
touches  of  humor  and  sportive  bits  of  business  that  mark 
him  as  easily  the  first  dramatist  in  America." 

With  this  novel  and  brilliant  comedy  (on  the  last 
night  of  which  a  special  epilogue  was  spoken  by  all  the 
characters)  the  seventh  season  of  Mr.  Daly  in  this  theatre- 
and  the  sixteenth  season  of  his  management  was  brought 
to  a  triumphant  close.  This  was  on  May  i,  1886.  The 
curtain  fell  on  the  night  of  the  ist  of  May  only  to  rise, 
the    following    Monday    night,    upon    an    entertainment 


THE   LIFE   OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY  399 

differing  greatly  in  kind,  but  thoroughly  in  keeping  with 
the  reputation  of  the  theatre  —  the  plays  given  by  Rosina 
Vokes  and  her  own  company.  Miss  Yokes,  the  survivor 
of  a  famous  company,  was  now  Mrs.  Frederic  Clay, 
and  the  leader  of  a  most  agreeable  company  of  artists. 
Mr.  Brandon  Thomas,  afterwards  well  known  as  the 
author  of  the  farce  "Charley's  Aunt,"  was  her  leading 
man  this  season.  Weedon  Grossmith  was  irresistibly 
funny  in  "A  Pantomime  Rehearsal."  Miss  Yokes' 
season  continued  six  enjoyable  weeks,  and  then  Daly's 
Theatre  was  closed  while  his  company,  after  a  brief 
spring  visit  to  Philadelphia  and  Boston,  paid  their  second 
visit  to  the  British  Isles  and  a  first  trip  to  the  continent. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

The  second  visit  to  London.  The  Daly  company  at  the  Strand 
Theatre.  Warm  greetings  of  the  press.  "A  Night  Off"  greatly 
applauded.  Affectionate  welcome  for  the  players.  "Nancy  & 
Co."  a  still  greater  success.  Competition  of  every  theatre  and 
star  in  London  to  contend  with.  List  of  attractions.  Social 
success  of  the  Company.  Irving's  supper  in  the  Beefsteak  Room 
at  the  Lyceum.  Performance  at  Brighton.  William  Black. 
Royalty  visits  the  Strand.     "A  Night  Off"  given  by  request. 

The  visit  to  London  in  1886  was  in  response  to  the  hearty 
invitation  given  in  1884  to  return  and  gratify  the  newly 
aroused  interest  of  the  English  people.  On  May  27 
the  company  opened  at  the  Strand  Theatre  with  "A 
Night  Off."  The  press  was  altogether  with  the  players 
and  the  play:  "Handled  with  exquisite  delicacy  of 
touch  by  the  actors  one  and  all"  {The  Times).  "They 
play  Into  each  other's  hands  with  a  grace  and  precision 
delightful  to  behold.  Apart  from  its  distinct  and  Indi- 
vidual merits,  the  company's  performance  has  a  general 
smoothness  and  spirit  which  cannot  fall  to  afford  the 
highest  satisfaction  to  an  educated  and  observant  audi- 
ence" {Morning  Post).  "It  was  like  a  greeting  to  dear 
old  friends,  and  In  spirit  at  least  there  was  a  hearty  shak- 
ing of  hands  across  the  footlights  with  Mr.  Lewis  and 
Mrs.  Gilbert,  Mr.  Drew  and  Miss  Rehan,  Mr.  Skinner 
and  Miss  Dreher  and  their  clever  companions"  (Era). 
With  regard  to  the  conditions  In  America  favorable  to 
development  of  theatrical  art,  the  Era  observed:  "No- 
where Is  greater  regard  paid  to  the  sex"  (than  in  America), 
"and  this  of  course  is  reflected  upon  the  stage.     Where 

400 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  401 

women  are  placed  upon  a  nearly  equal  status  with  men 
in  personal  liberty,  in  social  intercourse,  and  in  intel- 
lectual attainments,  comedy  is  likely  to  flourish ;  and  if 
the  comedy  of  America  has  hardly  yet  taken  the  highest 
place,  there  is  little  doubt  as  to  its  ultimate  develop- 
ment, influence  and  power."  The  Pall  Mall  Gazette 
said  that  the  company  had  probably  no  equal  outside 
of  Paris, 

The  company  waited  anxiously  behind  the  scenes  for 
their  cues  on  that  eventful  first  night.  The  crowd  to 
face  was  no  longer  the  American  colony  ;  it  was  emphati- 
cally British.  Lewis  was  the  first  to  be  recognized. 
Before  he  spoke  there  was  a  shout,  and  then  from  the  pit, 
"Glad  to  see  you  back!"  amid  cries  of  welcome.  It  is 
at  the  close  of  the  first  act  that  Mrs.  Gilbert  enters, 
followed  by  Miss  Rehan.  This  time  the  latter  remained 
behind  to  let  Mrs.  Gilbert  have  her  individual  greeting. 
It  came  with  a  will,  and  the  old  lady,  thinking  she  was 
sharing  it  with  her  young  associate,  turned  to  look  back, 
found  she  was  alone  on  the  stage,  and  realized  that  the 
welcome  was  all  her  own.  Her  emotion,  as  she  turned 
again  to  the  house,  could  be  plainly  perceived.  Then, 
at  Miss  Rehan's  entrance,  the  house  rose.  At  the  end 
of  the  play  the  audience,  instead  of  leaving  the  theatre 
immediately,  remained  to  give  the  company  five  recalls, 
to  demand  Mr.  Daly,  and  to  make  him  talk  —  which  he 
did  after  his  own  embarrassed  fashion,  but  very  much 
to  the  point. 

The  admiration  excited  by  the  performance  of  the 
opening  play  was,  however,  surpassed  by  the  appreciation 
of  the  acting  in  "Nancy  &  Co."  which  evoked  frantic 
applause.  Its  dialogue  was  praised  as  singularly  bright 
and  happy,  epigrammatic,  witty,  and  appropriate.  The 
Saturday  Review  said  :    "There  is  not  now  in  London  an 


402  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

English  company  as  well  chosen,  as  well  trained,  as  bril- 
liant In  the  abilities  of  its  Individual  members,  or  as  well 
harmonized  as  a  whole,  as  the  admirable  company  which 
Mr,  Daly  directs.  They  suggest  the  Comedie  Fran^alse 
at  its  best  when  it  is  not  frozen  stiff  by  Its  own  chill  dig- 
nity. Every  performance  shows  that  they  are  controlled 
by  a  single  mind  strong  In  the  knowledge  of  Its  own  aim 
and  ability."  The  Pall  Mall  Gazette  declared  :  "London 
will  be  duller  when  they  return  to  their  native  land." 

The  members  of  the  Daly  company  who  were  the  sub- 
ject of  these  unstinted  praises  and  who,  it  ought  to  be 
said  to  their  credit,  kept  their  heads  during  It  all,  were 
Miss  Rehan,  Mrs.  Gilbert,  Miss  Dreher,  Miss  Kingdon, 
Miss  Irwin,  and  Miss  Sylvle,  Mr.  Drew,  Mr.  Lewis,  Mr. 
Skinner,  Mr.  Leclercq,  Mr.  Bond,  Mr.  Gilbert,  and  Mr. 
Parkes.  It  must  be  remembered,  in  order  to  appreciate 
the  compliments  they  received,  that  they  were  pitted 
against  the  Lyceum  company  with  Henry  Irving  and  Miss 
Ellen  Terry  at  its  head  ;  the  French  company  at  Her 
Majesty's,  with  Damala  and  Mdlle.  Jane  Hading;  Her- 
man Vezin  in  "The  Fool's  Revenge"  at  the  Opera  Co- 
mique ;  Coghlan  and  Mrs.  Langtry  at  the  Prince's ; 
Wilson  Barrett  and  Miss  Eastlake  at  the  Princess ; 
Miss  Carlotta  Leclercq  and  Eben  Plympton  at  the 
Royalty ;  George  Grossmlth  and  Miss  Leonora  Braham 
at  the  Savoy  in  "The  Mikado";  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kendal 
at  the  St.  James ;  Misses  Kate  Rorke,  Rose  Leclercq, 
and  Lottie  Venne  at  the  Vaudeville;  Dixey  in  "Adonis" 
at  the  Gaiety;  Beerbohm  Tree  at  the  Haymarket; 
Hawtrey  at  the  Globe;  Mrs.  John  Wood  and  Arthur 
Cecil  at  the  Court;  Charles  Wyndham  at  the  Criterion; 
Marie  Tempest,  Rose  Hersee,  and  Pateman  at  Drury 
Lane;  Henry  Paulton  at  the  Comedy;  Terriss  at  the 
Adelphi ;  Grand  Opera  at  Covent  Garden  with  Albanl, 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  403 

Scalchi,  and  Maurel,  and  the  spectacles  at  the  Alhambra 
and  the  Empire. 

This  was  an  array  of  the  very  greatest  stage  attractions 
of  the  time  in  the  very  height  of  the  London  season,  and 
the  fact  that  into  this  arena  Daly  led  his  host  and  came 
off  victorious,  proves  more  than  any  words  the  quality 
of  his  company. 

During  their  long  stay  in  London  the  company  were 
made  much  of  socially.  Irving  gave  a  supper  in  the 
famous  Beefsteak  Room  of  the  Lyceum  Theatre,  to  which 
Mr.  Daly,  Miss  Rehan,  Mrs.  Gilbert,  Miss  Dreher,  Miss 
Irwin,  Mr.  Lewis,  Mr.  Drew,  Mr.  Skinner,  and  Mr. 
Leclercq  were  invited,  and  where  they  met  Miss  Ellen 
Terry,  Miss  Barnes  (a  niece  of  Canon  Barnes  and  a  recent 
debutante  at  Toole's),  Lord  Ronald  Gower,  designer  of 
the  Shakespeare  monument  at  Stratford,  Comyns  Carr, 
and  the  famous  London  editors  who  had  so  frankly  recog- 
nized the  merit  of  the  Daly  people.     The  invitation  was 

cordial  and  informal : 

"29  May,  1886. 
My  dear  Mr.  Daly, 

We  will  have  supper  on  Thursday  at  ^  past  eleven  &  if  the 
ladies  &  gentlemen  whom  I  had  the  delight  of  seeing  act  today 
will  honor  me  with  their  company  it  will  be  a  real  pleasure  to 
welcome  them.  Please  convey  to  them  one  &  all  my  respects 
&  greeting.     I  remain  Sincerely  yours 

Hy.  Irving. 

I  wish  this  were  *A  Night  Off'  that  I  might  see  your  play 
again." 

"8  July,  1886. 

My  dear  Mr.  Daly, 

I  shall  be  very  glad  if  you  are  still  able  to  spare  me  a  box 
for  Saturday  next.  I  would  like  to  offer  it  to  Sir  Dighton  Probyn, 
who  is  the  Prince  of  Wales'  right  hand  man. 


404  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

By  the  way,  the  Prince  is  honouring  me  with  his  company 

to  supper  on  Saturday,  July  24,  and  I  hope  that  Miss  Rehan 

&  you  will  also  honour  me. 

Yours  sincerely 

H.  Irving." 

A  formal  invitation  followed  next  day  "to  remind." 
The  cordial  farewell  Irving  and  my  brother  took  of  each 
other  (they  closed  their  season  on  the  same  night)  is 
evidenced  by  Irving's  last  letter  before  he  sailed  for  a 
vacation  in  America  : 


"31  July,  il 

My  dear  Mr.  Daly, 

With  all  my  heart  I  wish  every  good  fortune  to  you  and 

your  inimitable  friends.     I  hope  that  by  and  by  we  shall  all  meet 

often.     The  address  I  spoke  of  to  you  —  the  dog  man's  —  was 

Edwin  Nichols,  Victoria  Wharf,  Warwick  Road,  Kensington. 

But  I  have  a  Bull  pup  for  you,  and  if  you  will  give  particulars 

to  W.  Arnot,  Lyceum  Theatre,  he  will  take  care  of  it  till  you 

want  it. 

Very  sincerely 

H.  Irving." 

"Mephisto,"  the  bull-pup  spoken  of,  was  brought  to 
New  York,  but  my  brother's  partiality  for  him  was  not 
shared  by  everybody  in  the  theatre.  The  head  carpenter 
Tait  observed  to  me  one  day,  "I  have  no  use  for  him." 
Tait  had  a  complaint  to  make  to  Augustin  about  Mephis- 
to's  bad  temper  once,  and  as  the  details  of  his  behavior 
were  unfolded,  the  dog  rose  and  placed  his  forepaws 
beseechingly  on  my  brother's  breast  as  if  pleading  his 
own  cause.  When  it  happened  that  he  was  left  alone  in 
my  brother's  office  (which  was  never  locked),  he  did  not 
object  to  any  one  coming  in,  but  nobody  could  leave  until 
his  master  returned.     Once  a  prominent  dramatic  critic 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  405 

was  so  restrained  by  this  mistaken  policy  of  Mephisto's, 
that  he  could  have  made  out  a  very  good  case  of  false 
imprisonment.  Mephisto  died  a  few  years  later  and  was 
replaced  by  another  bull-pup. 

The  company  went  down  to  Brighton  to  give  a  matinee 
of  "A  Night  Off,"  and  William  Black  came  with  his 
wife  to  see  it.     He  wrote  : 

"I  am  proud  of  my  American  readers,  and  fancied  I  would 
like  to  hear  Americans  read  and  see  them  act.  One  can  form  a 
very  good  estimate  of  the  culture  of  a  people  by  a  study  of  the 
plays  they  accept  and  the  acting  they  enjoy;  but  I  confess  I 
have  lost  all  sight  of  the  nationality  In  the  fine  art  of  every 
member  of  the  company.  We  have  no  one  precisely  like  Miss 
Rehan  nearer  than  Paris." 

Mr.  Daly,  Miss  Rehan,  and  a  party  of  the  company 
dined  with  Mr.  Black  at  the  Old  Ship  Hotel. 

The  Prince  of  Wales  honored  the  Daly  performances 
twice.  For  the  royal  visit  of  July  19,  the  play  of  "A 
Night  Off"  was  given  "by  desire"  ;  and  on  the  last  night 
of  the  engagement,  after  the  play  —  which  was  followed 
by  a  witty  epilogue  written  for  the  farewell  by  Clement 
Scott  —  his  royal  highness  came  behind  and  took  leave 
of  each  person  in  turn. 

The  company  departed  at  once  for  Scotland  for  a  short 
engagement  preparatory  to  the  momentous  expedition 
to  the  continent. 


CHAPTER   XXIX 

The  first  visit  of  an  American  theatrical  company  to  Germany.  Open- 
ing in  Hamburg  at  the  Thalia  Theatre.  First  English  words  spoken 
on  a  German  stage  in  almost  300  years.  The  plays  from  the 
German  do  not  succeed  with  the  Germans.  Stobitzer's  "Love  on 
Crutches"  entirely  unknown  outside  of  Dresden.  But  the  Ger- 
mans respect  American  art.  Depressing  effect  upon  actors  play- 
ing to  audiences  ignorant  of  the  language.  A  week  in  Berlin  at 
the  Wallner  Theatre.  Speedy  change  in  critical  opinion.  The 
familiar  "Night  Off"  introduces  the  company,  and  they  suffer 
by  comparison  with  home  talent;  but  "She  Would  and  She  Would 
Not"  establishes  the  company  and  carries  the  remainder  of  the 
programme.  "Nancy  &  Co."  succeeds  in  English  where  it  failed 
in  German. 

If  It  were,  as  Wallack  said,  a  plucky  thing  for  Daly 
to  take  an  American  theatrical  company  to  England,  It 
was  even  more  courageous  on  his  part  to  court  the  opinion 
of  countries  unacquainted  with  the  English  language. 
The  company  was  announced  for  "Funftaghches  Gast- 
splel"  at  the  Thalia  Theatre,  Hamburg,  and  on  the  19th 
of  August,  1886,  the  first  English-speaking  company  In 
nearly  three  hundred  years  was  seen  on  a  German  stage. 
The  Berlin  Kreuz  Zeitung  recalled  that,  although  this 
was  the  first  American  company  to  appear  In  Germany, 
a  company  of  English  actors  performing  biblical  scenes 
or  Mysteries  had  been  brought  over  by  the  English  church- 
men who  attended  the  Council  of  Kostnltz  In  14175  ^^^ 
that  by  1590  English  actors  had  established  themselves 
and  won  a  settled  position  of  decided  Influence  In  the 
smaller  German  Courts  as  well  as  In  certain  cities  such  as 
Dantzlg. 

406 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  407 

Curiosity  to  witness  this  revival  of  the  EngHsh-speak- 
ing  stage  might  have  crowded  the  Hamburg  theatre  if 
the  weather  had  been  propitious  and  the  customary  sum- 
mer exodus  had  not  taken  away  most  of  the  class  likely 
to  be  interested  ;  but  the  hterary  and  critical  world  turned 
out  in  force.  Six  plays  were  given,  beginning  with 
"Love  on  Crutches,"  which  was  followed  by  "A  Night 
Off,"  "Nancy  &  Co.,"  "A  Woman's  Won't,"  "The  Coun- 
try Girl,"  and  "She  Would  and  She  Would  Not."  The 
names  of  the  German  originals  and  of  the  authors  were 
announced.  The  native  farces,  as  well  as  the  German 
source  of  "A  Woman's  Won't,"  were  of  course  familiar 
to  the  German  press  and  public,  and  for  their  benefit 
the  programmes  also  contained  in  full  the  argument  of 
Wycherly's  and  Gibber's  comedies.  It  transpired,  however, 
that  Stobitzer's  excellent  play,  from  which  "Love  on 
Crutches"  was  adapted,  had  not  been  played  in  Germany 
outside  of  Dresden.  The  opening  night  therefore  suffered 
from  the  unlooked-for  unfamiliarity  of  the  audience  with 
the  play,  and  also,  as  it  appeared,  from  a  low  estimate 
of  its  author. 

It  was  to  be  expected  that  the  American  manner  and 
speech  would  be  found  strange,  and  that  the  transforma- 
tion of  German  into  foreign  types  might  occasion  dis- 
content. The  Americans  were,  in  fact,  allowed  to  be 
fascinating,  but  declared  not  true  to  life.  What  the  ex- 
citement was  among  the  company  on  the  stage  may  be 
imagined.  They  had  no  illusions  about  the  effect  of 
playing  to  a  German  audience.  There  were  wagers  as 
to  who  would  get  the  first  laugh,  and  Miss  Rehan  won, 
even  against  Lewis.  But  there  was  gloom  when  lines 
that  had  evoked  screams  in  London  were  received  in 
decent  silence.  Indeed,  everything  shortly  became  so 
decorous  and  solemn  that  the  players,  after  pursuing  the 


4o8  THE  LIFE  OF   AUGUSTIN  DALY 

business  of  the  scene  with  their  accustomed  vivacity, 
came  off  entirely  subdued.  The  company,  however, 
Hke  a  family  party  at  a  strange  inn,  enjoyed  their  new 
experience.  As  none  of  them  spoke  German,  and  not  an 
attendant  of  the  theatre  spoke  English,  the  difficulties 
were  not  trifling.  Even  pantomime  did  not  always 
suffice. 

The  small  American  colony  at  the  performances  was 
increased  by  the  attendance  of  the  consuls,  British  and 
foreign,  with  their  families ;  and  these  dignitaries  took 
occasion  to  pay  visits  of  courtesy  to  Mr.  Daly,  who  was 
also  entertained,  with  his  company,  at  a  dinner  given  by 
the  German  authors. 

The  Wallner  Theatre  in  Berlin  had  been  leased  for  a 
week,  and  the  English  residents  and  such  Americans  as 
were  in  town  were  constant  attendants  upon  the  per- 
formances there.  So  general  and  lively  and  evident  be- 
came the  intimacy  thus  established  between  the  English 
and  the  Americans  across  the  footlights,  that  one  German 
writer  regretfully  remarked  that  the  German  population 
seemed  to  be  left  out  of  the  arrangement.  The  Berlin 
press,  whose  dramatic  columns  were  in  the  hands  of  an 
exceptionally  brilliant  coterie  —  and  which  was  at  first 
inclined  to  be  censorious  —  exhibited  a  remarkable  change 
of  opinion  in  a  very  short  time.  The  German  playwrights, 
of  course,  were  exceedingly  friendly  to  Mr.  Daly  on  ac- 
count of  the  market  for  their  productions  which  his  en- 
terprise had  opened  in  America,  but  this  did  not  affect 
in  any  degree  the  independence  of  the  critics.  The 
journal  which  prefaced  its  review  by  saying  of  Mr.  Daly 
that  he  was  not  only  well  known  as  a  clever  and  industrious 
arranger  of  German  plays,  but  was  praised  by  German 
dramatists  for  the  sense  of  justice  which  impelled  him, 
though  not  legally  bound  to  do  so,  to  pay  them  liberally 


THE  LIFE  OF   AUGUSTIN  DALY  409 

for  their  plays,  remarked  of  the  members  of  his  company 
that  they  had  already  become  well  known  through  street 
posters,  which  did  not  make  a  particularly  deep  impres- 
sion, and  that  (with  all  friendliness  to  the  strangers) 
truth  compelled  the  admission  that  the  originals  scarcely 
succeeded  better. 

It  was  in  this  spirit  that  the  opening  performance, 
"A  Night  Off"  (which  was  as  familiar  as  household 
words  to  the  Berliners),  was  generally  received.  The 
press  next  day  allowed  that  it  was  smoothly  played,  but 
deemed  the  performance  lacking  in  distinction  ;  it  also 
said  that  any  of  the  Berlin  players  would  have  done  much 
better,  and  imparted  to  the  performance  a  truer  comedy 
tone  than  the  guests  from  New  York,  some  of  whom, 
although  enjoying  particular  fame  at  home,  would  hardly 
be  engaged  by  a  Berlin  manager  —  certainly  not  for  prin- 
cipal roles.  Other  critics  pronounced  the  engagement  not 
a  happy  experiment,  and  opined  that,  besides  the  Ameri- 
cans present,  nobody  could  be  particularly  interested  in 
what  the  visitors  did  ;  also  that  they  afforded  Berliners 
an  opportunity  for  judging  American  art  somewhat  like 
that  offered  by  Hagenbeck's  anthropological  exhibition ; 
further,  that  the  announcement  that  their  engagement 
was  limited  to  seven  nights  afforded  more  gratification 
than  their  performances ;  and  finally  that  their  style 
was  of  the  coarsest  farce,  and  that  during  the  whole  even- 
ing one  expected  to  see  them  stand  upon  their  heads  or 
dance  a  clog  dance. 

Of  the  company  there  were  different  opinions.  One 
critic  credited  Miss  Rehan  with  having  "good  soubrette 
blood,"  but  said  she  caricatured  the  part  of  Nishe.  An- 
other observed  that  "Miss  Rehan,  the  darling  of  the 
company,  was  ridiculous  in  tasteless  toilettes."  An- 
other remarked  that  her  action  was  "charming  enough, 


4IO  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

but  without  a  trace  of  naturalness";  that  her  fainting 
scene  (Act  2)  was  done  "repulsively":  that  no  one  in 
Germany  would  play  a  backfisch  so  unsympathetically. 
One,  however,  found  Miss  Rehan  charming  as  an  ingenue, 
with  a  leaning  toward  the  enfant  terrible.  By  one  writer 
Mrs.  Gilbert  was  termed  a  comical  but  dignified  old  lady, 
while  another  observed  that  she  was  rather  old  than 
funny.  The  Hamburg  press,  by  the  way,  had  expressed 
the  opinion  that  the  German  stage  hardly  possessed  an 
old  woman  of  Mrs.  Gilbert's  comic  power  !  Lewis  and 
Leclercq,  it  was  said  by  one  observer,  gave  a  picture  in 
coarse  colors,  but  another  credited  Lewis  with  having 
played  with  astonishing  naturalness.  Of  Drew  and 
Skinner  it  was  remarked  that  they  gave  their  dry  humor 
full  value,  and  of  Miss  Dreher  that  she  never  overstepped 
the  bounds  of  comedy,  notwithstanding  "the  bad  example 
about  her." 

The  almost  brutal  reception  thus  given  to  the  "guests" 
and  to  their  manager  can  be  explained.  There  was  a 
natural  feehng  of  loyalty  to  native  performers,  who  were 
forced  into  contrast  with  strangers  in  their  favorite  parts. 

While,  in  Hamburg,  the  company  suffered  from  the 
disadvantage  of  opening  in  a  German  play  which  the 
Germans  did  not  know,  they  now  suffered  from  opening 
in  a  piece  so  well  known  that  a  novel  interpretation  of 
its  characters  came  with  a  sort  of  shock.  The  critic  of 
the  Staatsburger  Zeitung  observed,  however,  that,  although 
the  American  way  of  treating  "Der  Raub  der  Sabinerin- 
nen"  savored  of  burlesque,  "the  performance  showed 
clearly  that  it  would  be  easy  for  the  Americans  to  sat- 
isfy the  highly  cultivated  taste  of  a  society  which  had 
outgrown  worn-out  theatrical  effects ; "  that  the  acting 
was  fresh,. clever,  and  only  not  natural  when  the  American 
taste  led  to  the  exaggeration  of  the  comic  element.     An- 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  411 

other  journal  ungrudgingly  stated  that  the  public  ap- 
peared to  be  much  pleased,  and  that  "instead  of  judging 
our  guests  by  our  standards,  we  ought  to  be  happy  and 
thankful  to  learn  the  American  art  and  their  custom  of 
interpreting  it"  ;  and  another  ejaculated,  "God  be  praised, 
we  have  home  talent  good  enough  to  show  what  good 
acting  is  —  but,  on  the  whole,  the  evening  was  delightful !" 
The  manager,  after  presenting  his  company  to  the 
Berliners  first  in  the  most  boisterous  of  the  German 
farces,  next  o6Fered  that  most  lively  of  old  comedies,  "She 
Would  and  She  Would  Not."  No  more  disapproval  of 
American  methods  was  heard.  The  critics  went  to  Gib- 
ber's play  and  found  the  acting  a  revelation.  On  the 
third  night,  "Love  on  Crutches"  established  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  visitors.  On  the  fourth  night  "The  Gountry 
Girl"  enraptured  the  Berliners,  and  in  the  spirited  per- 
formance of  "Nancy  &  Go."  ("Halbe  Dichter"),  the 
German  critics  found  courage  to  compare  the  Americans 
with  the  best  actors  of  their  own  stage.  "We  see  them  " 
(says  the  Tagehlatt)  "on  their  strongest  side  —  an  exu- 
berant humor  which  passes  all  bounds,  and  which  our 
Germans  have  not  courage  to  attempt  for  fear  of  lapsing 
into  the  coarse";  the  Borsten  Courier,  noting  the  fact 
that  the  piece  had  been  played  two  years  before  in  this 
very  theatre  and  unsuccessfully,  observed  that  the  Ger- 
man actors  who  now  saw  the  Daly  company  in  it  went 
home  after  this  performance  with  greater  satisfaction 
than  they  had  felt  after  their  own.  The  Presse,  re- 
calling the  same  previous  failure,  declared  the  present 
success  remarkable,  and  thought  the  play  might  have  been 
helped  by  an  adaptation  which  added  humorous  force 
to  it;  but  nevertheless  acknowledged  that  the  American 
performers  "taught  us  that  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic  there  are  players  who  freshly  and  decidedly  em- 


412  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

body  the  humor  of  the  drama.  When  our  guests  return 
to  their  home  across  the  great  water,  they  will,  perhaps, 
take  with  them  the  knowledge  that  the  chief  value  of 
their  work  in  the  German  capital  lies  less  in  the  pieces 
they  have  performed  than  in  the  manner  in  which  they 
played  them.  .  .  .  By  their  dramatic  equipment,  their 
smoothness  in  dialogue  and  the  freshess  of  their  humor 
alone,  have  they  secured  an  uncontested  and  incontestable 
success."  The  National  Zeitung  acknowledged  the  visit 
of  the  Daly  company  to  be  an  act  of  courtesy  to  the 
German  public  and  to  German  authors.  The  Borsten 
Courier  said  that  "the  acquaintance  made  with  the 
peculiar  art  of  the  Americans  was  worth  while  —  it  was 
captivating  and  won  success,  even  with  their  German 
colleagues." 

A  graceful  courtesy  to  the  visitors  was  shown  by  the 
Lokal  Anzeiger,  which  printed  its  farewell  "to  its  esteemed 
American  guests"  in  their  language  as  well  as  its  own, 
and  declared  that  their  visit  from  across  the  ocean  was  a 
laudable  as  well  as  highly  interesting  enterprise,  and  that 
*'Mr.  Daly's  actors  belonged  to  the  very  first  ranks  of 
their  profession." 


CHAPTER  XXX 

The  first  visit  of  an  American  theatrical  company  to  France.  No 
delusions  entertained  about  its  probable  reception.  False  notions 
about  the  "Yankee."  Keen  interest  among  professionals.  An- 
nouncements. Engagement  of  the  Theatre  des  Vaudevilles. 
Enrollment  of  Daly  in  the  Dramatic  Authors'  Society.  The  first 
night.  All  the  company  on  the  scene  except  Miss  Kingdon. 
The  Anglo-American  colony  in  full  dress,  to  the  surprise  of  the 
Parisians.  The  journals,  in  the  main,  not  encouraging.  Resent- 
ment at  showing  another  art  in  the  art  capital  of  the  world.  Disas- 
ters of  English,  German,  Spanish,  and  Russian  troupes  recalled. 
Discovery  first  that  the  plays  now  produced  were  not  American, 
but  Prussian  —  then  that  they  were  French.  Some  serious 
criticisms.  Criticism  of  the  acting.  English  press  indignant. 
Company  locked  in.     Let  out  in  time  to  get  to  Ireland.     Home. 

In  going  to  Paris  Mr.  Daly  was  under  no  delusion  as  to 
the  reception  his  company  would  meet  with  from  press 
and  people.  He  believed  them  without  interest  in  dra- 
matic matters  outside  of  their  own  country,  and  indif- 
ferent to  any  school  of  acting  but  their  own.  He  expected, 
however  (and  in  this  he  was  not  disappointed),  very  keen 
professional  interest  in  his  work.  In  one  respect  he  was 
misjudged.  Most  of  the  journalists  supposed  that  his 
object  in  bringing  his  people  so  many  thousands  of  miles 
at  such  great  cost  was  to  make  money  —  they  religiously 
believed  that  all  Americans  followed  money-making  as 
a  principle.  His  attempt  was  therefore  considered  as 
sordid  as  it  was  audacious,  and  deserving  of  failure.  They 
never  clearly  comprehended  Daly,  and  this,  with  some 
minor  matters,   quite   French,  vexed   him.     But  he  got 

413 


414  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

over  his  annoyance,  and  looked  back  upon  his  experience 
with  a  sense  of  victory. 

His  coming  was  heralded  for  some  weeks  in  all  the 
journals,  and  in  the  principal  ones  in  very  gracious  words. 
Although  his  stay  was  to  be  very  brief,  only  three  days, 
the  Theatre  des  Vaudevilles  was  secured  at  a  heavy  cost. 
The  capacity  of  the  house  was  estimated  at  1200  persons ; 
and  the  regular  prices  of  admission  ranged  from  six  francs 
(eight  francs  if  the  seats  were  booked,  or  secured  in 
advance)  downwards.  According  to  custom,  Mr.  Daly 
was  duly  enrolled  in  the  Societe  des  Auteurs  et  Compositeurs 
Dramatiques,  and  his  fees  as  author  being  reckoned  at 
ten  per  cent  of  the  gross  receipts,  three  per  cent  thereof 
was  deducted  and  paid  over  to  the  society.  The  excel- 
lent Mr.  Roger,  its  agent,  was  an  enthusiastic  visitor  to 
the  performances.  License  for  the  plays  was  obtained  in 
due  course  from  the  Ministre  des  Beaux-Arts.  As  the  con- 
tract for  the  theatre  did  not  include  an  orchestra,  one 
was  collected  for  Mr.  Daly  at  the  nightly  cost  of  ten 
francs  each  for  two  of  the  performers  and  eight  francs 
for  each  of  the  others,  and  they  were  conducted  by  Mr. 
Henry  Widmer  as  chef  d'orchestre.  Furniture  for  the 
drawing-room  scenes  was  secured  from  a  shop  at  an  ex- 
pense of  600  francs,  in  advance  of  Mr.  Daly's  arrival. 
The  proprietor  of  the  shop  had  to  be  furnished  with  a 
plan  of  the  scenes  in  order  to  make  appropriate  selections 
from  his  stock,  and  he  also  required  time  for  thought  in 
the  process.  The  result,  he  asserted,  would  be  found  to 
surpass  anything  on  the  French  stage. 

Care  was  taken  to  invite  to  the  opening  persons  dis- 
tinguished in  art  and  literature.  All  who  were  not  pre- 
vented by  professional  engagements  or  absence  on  their 
holidays  were  present.  The  English  and  American 
Ambassadors  had  boxes  for  the  opening,  the  Russian  Am- 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  415 

bassador  for  the  last  night.  Arsene  and  Henri  Houssaye 
came  to  the  first  performance,  and  Coquelin,  who  had 
expected  to  be  able  to  attend  only  the  performance  of 
"The  Country  Girl,"  was  present  every  evening.  The 
English  and  American  colony  were  out  in  great  force, 
notwithstanding  the  midsummer  heat.  M.  de  Blowitz 
wrote  to  the  London  Times  that  "the  English  people 
present  expressed  surprise  at  the  total  want  of  an  American 
accent  on  the  stage." 

The  company  which  appeared  in  Paris  was  identical 
with  that  which  had  played  in  Germany,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Miss  Kingdon,  who  had  withdrawn  from  the  stage 
to  be  married. 

The  programme  for  the  three  performances  of  "La 
Troupe  Americaine  d'Augustin  Daly  du  Daly's  Theatre 
New  York  (Etats  Unis)"  was  for  the  first  night  "A 
Woman's  Won't"  ("Le  '  Je  Ne  Veux  Pas  '  d'une  Femme") 
and  "Love  on  Crutches"  ("L'Amour  Boiteux");  for 
the  second  night,  "A  Woman's  Won't"  and  "A  Night 
Off"  ("Une  Soiree  de  Premiere")  ;  for  the  third  night,  "A 
Country  Girl,"  and  for  the  matinee,  "Nancy  &  Co." 
The  programmes  contained  a  full  description  of  each 
play  for  the  benefit  of  visitors  who  could  not  follow  the 
dialogue. 

The  reception  of  the  company  on  the  opening  night 
was  enthusiastic.  That  the  English  and  Americans  took 
the  trouble  to  come  in  evening  dress  was  a  circumstance 
which  excited  the  first  comments  of  the  Parisian  journalists, 
who  announced  next  morning,  as  matter  of  news,  that  the 
women  were  decolletees  and  the  men  in  black,  in  marked 
contrast  to  the  customary  morning  coats  and  felt  hats 
they  wore  at  the  opera  house  in  the  summer  season  — 
"some  even  going  in  gray  like  millers."  One  exasperated 
writer    considered    their    dress    at    this    performance    an 


41 6  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

indication  that  they  felt  themselves  at  home  and  honored 
the  occasion  accordingly,  and  that  customarily  they  were 
"book-makers  in  Paris  and  gentlemen  only  in  England," 
Figaro  was  gratified  to  observe  that  the  French  were  the 
only  ones  present  in  high-necked  dresses  and  paletots  — 
"politesse  for  politesse!"  Le  Matin  observed  of  the 
evening  dress  and  rohes  decolletees,  that  with  a  little 
imagination  one  might  fancy  oneself  "in  New  York,  some- 
where in  the  neighborhood  of  Sixth  Avenue." 

The  interest  in  the  visiting  players  felt  by  some  of  the 
journalists  and  litterateurs  of  Paris  was  not  shared  by  all 
the  critical  fraternity.  Completely  helpless  and  resent- 
ful in  face  of  the  task  of  judging  the  merits  of  actors  who 
spoke  in  a  foreign  tongue,  the  journals  with  one  or  two 
exceptions  were  filled  with  puerilities  such  as  the  above 
comments  upon  the  dress  of  the  audience,  criticisms  of  the 
appearance  of  the  actors,  and  a  frank  acknowledgment  of 
the  hostile  reception  to  be  expected  by  a  foreign  company 
venturing  to  invade  the  French  stage.  One  reviewer 
recalled  the  astonishment  of  Theophile  Gautier  when  in 
his  day  a  German  company  —  and  a  bad  one  at  that  — 
had  the  audacity  to  appear  in  Paris.  "How  is  it,"  he 
is  quoted  as  exclaiming,  "that  the  greatest,  the  most 
confident  —  those  who  have  been  carried  in  triumph, 
crowned  with  gold  and  drawn  by  yokes  of  admirers,  ap- 
proached Paris  trembling,  and  you  have  not  been  afraid  .^" 
The  Univers  Illustre  revived  pleasant  recollections  of  the 
mobbing  of  an  English  company  which  had  appeared  in 
"Othello"  in  1822  at  the  Porte-Saint-Martin,  the  per- 
formers being  pelted  with  potatoes,  broken  pipes,  and 
sous,  one  of  which  struck  an  actress  in  the  face  and  caused 
her  to  faint.  A  force  of  gendarmes  appeared  on  the 
stage,  but  the  audience  hurled  chairs  at  them;  then,  at 
the  "charge"  sounded  by  one  of  the  rioters  on  a  drum  in 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  417 

the  orchestra,  the  mob  leaped  over  the  footlights.  The 
actors  rallied  to  drive  them  back,  and  a  hand-to-hand 
conflict  ensued,  terminating  in  the  retreat  of  the  for- 
eigners, covered  with  wounds.  The  writer  admitted 
that  American  actors,  "no  more  than  English,  German, 
Spanish,  or  Hottentot,"  had  ever  won  in  Paris  the  success 
which  French  companies  achieved  abroad  ;  that  this  was 
due  to  the  indifference  felt  by  Frenchmen  in  general  and 
Parisians  in  particular  to  all  that  went  on  in  other  coun- 
tries—  a  bad  thing  undoubtedly;  and  that  there  was 
"nothing  to  attract  foreign  actors  to  Paris  —  neither 
money  to  gain  nor  applause  to  receive." 

Another  English  company  once  risked  Paris,  played 
one  night  to  seventeen  persons,  and  next  day  took  the 
train  for  home.  The  Paris  campaign  of  the  great  Italian, 
Rossi,  was  disastrous.  One  Spanish  company  at  the 
Varietes  and  another,  the  Estudiantina,  at  the  Salle 
Taitbout,  met  with  discomfiture.  But  the  most  calami- 
tous experiment  was  that  of  a  Russian  company  of  forty 
persons  with  beautiful  and  curious  costumes,  which  ar- 
rived in  Paris  in  1876  to  give  a  play  called  "A  Russian 
Wedding  in  the  i6th  Century"  —  very  popular  in  St. 
Petersburg  and  Moscow.  They  had  quite  a  crowd  on 
the  first  night,  but  most  of  it  left  before  the  end  ;  they 
tried  every  means  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  public 
—  distributed  printed  translations  of  their  play  and 
lowered  their  prices,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  They  were 
organized  to  carry  out  a  long  season,  but  one  morning 
the  manager  committed  suicide,  one  of  the  actors  fol- 
lowed his  example,  and  finally  the  French  actors  had  to 
get  up  a  benefit  and  send  them  home. 

These  lugubrious  reminiscences  convinced  the  Paris 
press  that  the  Americans  were  doomed  to  failure,  and 
that  it  would   not  be  unkind   promptly  to  execute   the 


41 8  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

decree  of  fate.  The  columns  of  several  papers  were 
opened  to  a  patriotic  anonymous  correspondent  who 
announced  that  the  company  was  imposing  on  the 
pubHc  —  that  it  did  not  come  from  "London"  but  from 
Berlin,  and  that  the  plays  to  which  Mr.  Daly  put  his 
name  were  not  American  but  notoriously  Prussian. 
Even  when  it  was  discovered  that  some  of  the  Daly  plays 
were  from  French  originals,  Le  Telegraphs  calmly  de- 
clared :  "It  is  not  the  mission  of  the  French  press  to  en- 
courage foreign  adapters."  But  gratification  was  ex- 
pressed in  some  quarters  on  finding  that  "A  Woman's 
Won't,"  or  "Thank  Goodness  the  Table  is  Spread!", 
although  adapted  from  the  German,  was  originally  Leon 
Gozlan's  "Dieu  merci  le  convert  est  mis!"  And  that 
"Love  on  Crutches"  was  copied  partly  from  Sardou's 
"Les  Pattes  de  Mouche"  and  partly  from  Alphonse  Karr's 
"Le  Chemin  le  plus  Court."  One  feuilletonist  delight- 
fully remarked,  "After  seeing  Mr.  Daly's  American  adap- 
tation of  a  German  play,  one  is  forced  to  exclaim,  'How 
well  these  Frenchmen  write!'"  —  a  jeu  d' esprit  greatly 
relished  by  the  adapter,  who  was  very  well  satisfied  to 
have  preserved  the  brilliancy  of  the  original  after  it  had 
passed  through  two  transformations.  The  position  taken 
by  another  authority  was  that  "if  Mr.  Daly  persisted 
further  he  would  meet  the  fate  of  all  foreign  managers 
who  have  tried  to  introduce  their  productions  within  our 
artistic  walls";  and  the  boldness  of  his  attempt  was 
thus  explained  :  "Mr.  Daly's  artists  have  probably  much 
talent,  but  they  have  deceived  themselves  and  have  con- 
founded Paris  with  a  village.  Paris  is  the  greatest  city 
of  the  world,  and  to  gain  its  attention  it  is  necessary 
to  offer  something  worthy  of  it." 

The  coup  de  grace  was  administered  to  Mr,  Daly  as 
adapter.     He   was   described   as   an   industrious   Yankee 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  419 

who  hired  subalterns  at  two  hundred  francs  a  month  to 
translate  the  low  German  repertoire,  and  had  the  effron- 
tery to  put  his  name  to  the  work.  Several  critics,  like 
M.  Besson  of  U Evenement,  condemned  the  Daly  plays 
as  "fit  only  for  boarding  schools"  ;  and  the  veteran  Sarcey 
(whom  M.  de  Blowitz  accused  of  staying  away  from  the 
performances  altogether)  cruelly  remarked  that  the 
pieces  of  the  company  might  be  witnessed  by  "any  young 

girl." 

Of  the  acting,  Le  Gaulois  conceded  that  "it  is  very 
good,  very  easy,  very  sure,  very  quick,  and  the  ensemble 
is  happy;  the  humor  seems  a  little  cold  and  scant,  but 
it  must  be  judged  from  the  American  point  of  view; 
and  the  company  is  excellent."  La  Pommeraye  in  Paris 
delivered  an  opinion  that  disclosed  an  attempt  at  analy- 
sis. Speaking  of  the  company  generally,  he  says  that 
they  seemed  to  French  observers  "too  much  preoccupied 
in  trying  to  give  the  illusion  of  reality";  and  he  con- 
tinues : 

"If  Mr.  Zola  assisted  at  these  representations  at  the  Vaude- 
ville he  ought  to  be  happy,  for  if  all  American  actors  play  like 
those  we  are  seeing  the  American  theatre  may  be  said  to  be 
naturalistic.  Thus  in  'A  Woman's  Won't'  a  young  husband 
treats  his  wife  on  the  scene  with  a  liberty  which  would  some- 
what shock  our  French  women.  He  .  .  .  even  —  do  I  deceive 
myself  —  kisses  her  on  the  mouth.  In  France  certain  artists 
attempt  this  boldness,  but  they  turn  their  backs  to  the  public. 
Americans  are  more  frank.  Shocking  —  but  pleasing.  This 
impassioned  pantomime  is  also  very  ardent  in  the  last  act  of 
'Love  on  Crutches.' 

This  propensity  for  naturalism  shows  itself  in  a  thousand 
details.  The  fashion  of  entering,  sitting,  taking  a  chair,  talk- 
ing, taking  leave,  going  out,  coming  in,  —  it  is  the  usage  of  every- 
day life.     With  us  there  is  always  a  little  conventionality   in 


420  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

the  movement  of  the  characters.      If  I  may  judge  from  what  I 
see  the  American  stage  is  dominated  exclusively  by  reality. 

I  was  not  offended  by  it;  nevertheless,  with  regard  to  speech 
—  a  topic  upon  which  I  wish  to  be  reserved  —  if  I  dare  risk  a 
criticism,  I  regret  that  the  dialogue  is  delivered  in  a  fashion  so 
rapid  and  in  a  tone  of  such  conversational  intimacy  as  to  lessen 
the  effect  of  many  points.  I  am  one  of  those  who  believe  that 
it  is  not  necessary  to  speak  on  the  stage  as  in  a  room  or  a  salon.^^ 

By  the  individuals  of  the  company  the  critics  were 
greatly  impressed,  in  spite  of  evident  reluctance  to  dis- 
cern anything  pleasing  in  the  plays  ;  but  there  was  always 
with  them  a  sense  of  something  new  and  strange.  Mr. 
Drew,  th.ejeune  premier,  we  learn  from  various  journalistic 
sources,  is  "very  simple  and  very  Saxon";  is  "a  hand- 
some fellow  whose  faultless  dress  is  not  his  sole  merit, 
for  in  his  love  scenes  he  exhibits  warmth  without  ceasing 
to  be  the  man  of  the  world";  moreover,  he  possesses  "a 
bearing  of  distinction  ;  and  is  cold,  but  not  so  much  so  as 
to  prevent  his  controlling  his  scenes,  which  he  holds  well 
in  hand." 

The  critics  on  the  first  night  had  a  good  deal  to  contend 
with  besides  an  imperfect  acquaintance  with  the  English 
language,  if  not  total  ignorance  of  it.  There  was  con- 
fusion in  seating  the  audience,  owing  to  a  renumbering  of 
chairs  after  the  spring  cleaning  of  the  theatre,  and  many 
journalists  found  themselves  placed  unsuitably  to  their 
dignity.  Seen  through  lorgnettes  evidently  out  of  focus, 
Mr.  Drew  appeared  to  two  of  them  like  a  "  hairdresser's 
apprentice  " ;  and  it  is  from  a  back  seat,  doubtless,  that 
we  have  the  complaint:  "Miss  Rehan,  the  Sarah  Bern- 
hardt of  the  troupe,  and  Mr.  John  Drew,  do  not  stir  us 
in  the  least.  .  .  .  The  actors  have  natural  humor,  and 
could  make  us  laugh  if  they  had  anything  to  do.  Our 
artists  can  only  gain  by  comparison." 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  421 

The  London  press  was  not  at  all  pleased  with  the  re- 
ception given  to  the  Daly  company  in  Paris,  and  the  ac- 
counts sent  over  by  the  correspondents  aroused  English 
sentiment  to  such  an  extent  that  they  practically  made 
the  cause  of  the  Americans  their  own.  The  Times  cor- 
respondent, M.  de  Blowitz,  to  whose  Paris  letter  upon 
these  performances  was  accorded  very  large  space,  dis- 
cerned a  certain  disappointment  on  the  part  of  the  French 
journalists  at  the  large  attendance  upon  the  Daly  plays, 
and  an  attempt  to  represent  the  audiences  and  the  ap- 
plause as  exclusively  English  and  American.  He  affirmed 
the  contrary,  and  declared  the  French  spectators  hearty 
in  their  appreciation.  He  asserted  that  the  local  critics 
did  not  shine  in  the  task  imposed  upon  them  by  the  ad- 
vent of  their  American  visitors,  and  that  not  a  few, 
Sarcey  at  their  head,  simplified  their  duties  by  shirking 
them  ;  that  others  sat  out  the  lever  du  rideau  ("A  Woman's 
Won't")  impatiently,  and  then  ran  away  to  escape  longer 
wrestling  with  the  Anglo-Saxon  tongue ;  while  those  who 
had  the  courage  to  watch  the  performance  to  its  close, 
were  lenient  in  their  judgment,  but  took  refuge  behind 
their  imperfect  knowledge  of  English  to  excuse  themselves 
for  limiting  their  notices  of  the  performances  to  superficial 
impressions.  On  the  whole,  he  observed,  their  remarks 
generally,  though  devoid  of  all  weight  as  criticism,  showed 
a  desire  to  do  justice  —  or  rather  not  to  be  ignorantly 
unjust. 

After  having  "crossed  Paris  like  a  flash  of  lightning," 
as  Gustave  Flaubert  said  in  La  Republique,  Mr.  Daly  took 
his  company  back  to  England  without  realizing  that  he 
had  after  all  escaped  the  fate  of  those  English,  German, 
Russian,  and  Spanish  adventurers  who  years  before  had 
madly  dashed  themselves  against  the  artistic  rock  of 
Paris.     What  would  have  astonished  his  French  critics, 


422  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

if  they  had  known  it,  was  his  resolution,  before  he  left 
Paris,  to  return  to  it  again  and  storm  its  prejudices. 
A  letter  from  my  brother  will  conclude  this  episode  : 

"Northwestern  Hotel,  Liverpool,  Sept.  9,  '86. 
Dear  Brother, 

As  you  may  well  imagine  I  had  enough  to  do  in  Paris  besides 
letter  writing.  It  was  an  anxious  and  disappointing  week  for 
me.  I  went  into  a  theatre  which  was  undergoing  a  re-arrange- 
ment of  seats,  and  the  seats  were  not  all  laid  in  until  7:35 
o'clock  on  the  evening  we  opened  ;  and  the  curtain  was  run 
up  at  8.  The  seats  were  sold  from  the  old  diagram  and  a  lot 
of  confusion  ensued.  The  weather  was  unbearably  hot. 
French  theatres  have  no  ventilation  whatever,  and  they  keep 
every  door  closed.  Some  of  the  rabid  French  papers  had  got 
up  a  cry  that  my  visit  to  Paris  with  German  plays  was  a  de- 
liberate insult  to  the  French  nation,  and  so  quite  a  bad  feeling 
was  fanned  into  life  in  addition  to  the  inborn  hatred  which  the 
true  Parisian  bears  to  everything  foreign.  The  Company  were 
naturally  anxious ;  the  departure  of  Miss  Kingdon  rendered 
rehearsals  for  Miss  Dreher  necessary.  And  so  in  the  midst  of 
all  these  excitements  we  opened.  That  my  experiment  was 
not  an  utter  failure  is  only  to  be  laid  to  Heaven's  mercy.  We 
did  not  fail,  but  we  did  not  give  a  good  performance  of  Love 
on  Crutches.  The  second  night  was  better:  'A  Night  Off.' 
The  third,  Nancy  and  Country  Girl,  fair,  but  the  heat  was 
frightful.  When  all  was  over  the  farce  began  :  We  were  all 
locked  in  by  the  concierge,  who  claimed  that  three  of  his  towels 
were  missing  from  the  dressing  rooms,  and  he  would  not  let 
any  one  out  until  they  were  found.  They  had  been  collected 
by  the  French  dresser,  and  were  finally  restored  to  the  concierge, 
who  I  suspect  had  invented  the  robbery  thinking  to  get  some 
money,  as  I  had  resisted  all  appeals  to  give  him  a  pourboire. 
I  had  found  him  grasping  and  unobliging. 

The  most  unprejudiced  French  critics  gave  us  praise.  Al- 
most all  praised  the  ensemble,  which,  as  you  know,  is  my  pride, 
but  which  nervousness,  &c.,  nearly  destroyed  on  the  first  night. 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  423 

Coquelin  attended  all  the  performances  and  was  delighted, 
especially  with  Miss  Rehan  and  Mr.  Lewis.  .  .  .  The  mis- 
management of  the  man  who  attended  to  the  advance  business 
matters  for  me  antagonized  a  lot  of  critics.  ...  I  tried  all  I 
could  when  I  reached  here  to  overcome  this.  ...  I  am  glad 
the  ordeal  is  over.     I  am  worked  out.  .   .  ." 

After  a  single  day  spent  in  London,  the  company  took 
train  for  Liverpool  to  open  at  the  Royal  Alexandra  The- 
atre on  September  6.  This  was  their  first  visit  to  Liver- 
pool. On  the  13th  the  company  was  playing  in  the 
Gaiety  Theatre,  Dublin.  From  Ireland  Mr.  Daly  and 
the  company  took  steamer  for  New  York,  landing  on 
September  26  in  excellent  spirits  after  the  most  ex- 
citing tour  in  their  history.  Since  leaving  home  in  May 
they  had  given  sixty-eight  performances  in  London, 
seven  each  in  Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  Liverpool,  and  Dub- 
lin, five  in  Hamburg,  six  in  Berlin,  three  in  Paris,  and  two 
in  Brighton. 

The  return  to  America  was  to  a  welcome  even  warmer 
than  that  of  1884.  Wallack  wrote,  "Pray  let  me  con- 
gratulate you  on  your  brilliant  success  and  your  safe  re- 
turn!" Palmer  arranged  for  a  dinner,  with  Wallack  and 
a  few  friends.  Horace  Howard  Furness  wrote  after  the 
news  of  the  London  season  had  been  cabled  to  America  : 

"Wallingford  P.O.,  Delaware  County, 

Pennsylvania. 
Dear  Daly 

You  are  a  real  downright  good  boy !  These  clippings  are 
the  very  things  I  was  longing  for.  The  cable  had  given  us  your 
neat  little  speech  on  the  first  night  —  which  had  amazingly 
whetted  our  appetite  for  fuller  details. 

Now  don't  you  let  those  Britishers  spoil  you  and  make  you 
despise  the  likes  of  us  when  you  get  back.  'Codlin's  your 
friend,  not  Short!'" 


424  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

There  are  pleasant  memorials  of  the  trip  now  ended  ; 
of  Janauschck,  Mrs.  Kendal,  Genevieve  Ward,  and  the 
little  dancing  lady,  Loie  Fuller,  who  once  begged  Augustin 
to  hear  her  sing,  in  order  to  be  taken  into  the  ranks  of 
his  musical  debutantes  ;  of  Toole,  HoUingshead,  Wilson 
Barrett,  Howard  Paul,  and  Hare,  frequent  visitors  to  the 
Strand  ;  of  Pollock,  editor  of  the  Saturday  Review,  and 
before  that  one  of  the  brilliant  theatrical  critics  of  Lon- 
don, who  was  most  enthusiastic  over  the  Daly  comedies, 
and  reminded  by  them  of  the  Comedie  Fran^aise  in  its 
best  days ;  and  of  the  radiant  Ellen  Terry,  who  wrote  : 
"My  young  daughter  is  dying  to  see  our  Ada  Rehan." 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

Season  of  1886-1887,  to  be  memorable  for  the  revival  of  "The  Taming 
of  the  Shrew"  with  the  "Induction"  restored.  A  literary  as  well 
as  a  dramatic  event.  "After  Business  Hours."  "Love  in  Har- 
ness." "The  Taming  of  the  Shrew"  as  produced  by  Daly  a  new 
play  to  the  stage.  The  cast.  Enthusiasm  of  the  audience  and 
of  the  press.  The  production  elicits  editorial  praise.  A  pri- 
vately printed  edition.  Life  publishes  a  letter  from  Shakespeare 
to  his  dear  friend  Daly.  The  Shrew  supper.  Mark  Twain's 
speech.  Lester  Wallack's.  Transfer  of  his  company  to  Daly's 
in  April,  1887.     The  end  of  a  respected  institution. 

The  play  on  the  first  night  of  the  season,  October  5, 
1886,  at  Daly's  Theatre,  was  "After  Business  Hours," 
from  the  German  of  Oscar  Blumenthal ;  and  his  theme  was 
the  craze  for  money,  dress,  and  display.  The  pathetic 
story  of  Lily  Bart  in  Mrs.  Wharton's  House  of  Mirth  dis- 
closes the  tragic  side  of  one  such  story.  In  this  play 
the  theme  is  treated  humorously.  When  the  curtain 
fell,  each  of  the  principal  performers  was  called  for,  and 
then  an  imperative  demand  for  the  hero  of  the  European 
trip  brought  a  modest  response  from  Mr.  Daly,  in  which  a 
sincere  tribute  was  paid  to  the  friendships  formed  on  both 
sides  of  the  water. 

"After  Business  Hours"  was  continued  for  forty-nine 
performances,  and  then  "Love  in  Harness"  was  produced 
on  November  16.  Albin  Valabregue's  "Bonheur  Con- 
jugal" furnished  the  groundwork  of  this  three-act  French 
farce,  the  fun  of  which  was  uproarious. 

While  these  modern  comedies  held  the  stage  of  Daly's, 
a  Shakespearian  revival  of  the  first  importance  was    in 

425 


426  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

preparation.  This  was  "Tlie  Taming  of  the  Shrew." 
An  abbreviated  version,  under  the  title  of  "Katherine  and 
Petruchio, "  had  been  long  a  familiar  entertainment  in 
England  and  America  and  was  first  produced  by  Gar- 
rick  a  century  and  a  half  ago.  He  eliminated  from 
Shakespeare's  comedy  the  "Induction"  and  the  wooing 
of  Bianca,  in  fact  everything  but  the  boisterous  episodes 
of  Katherine  and  Petruchio^  and  thereafter  his  fragment 
was  tacitly  accepted  as  the  only  actable  form  of  the 
work,  and  was  usually  reserved  as  a  frolic  for  gala  nights. 
Edwin  Booth  added  Petruchio  to  his  repertoire  when  he 
needed  a  rest,  and  Charlotte  Cushman  romped  through 
the  part  of  Katherine  for  her  benefits.  The  characters 
were  always  great  favorites  with  the  "heavies"  of  the 
profession,  men  and  women. 

Stripped  of  the  Induction  which  Shakespeare  retained 
when  he  re-wrote  the  earlier  play  ("The  Taming  of  a 
Shrew")  there  remained  only  a  farcical  interlude;  but 
with  the  Induction  restored,  we  find  a  comedy  of  man- 
ners. Mr.  Winter,  in  his  introduction  to  Mr.  Daly's 
printed  prompt  copy  of  "The  Taming  of  the  Shrew," 
observes  that  the  members  of  the  Daly  company  were 
the  creators  on  the  American  stage  of  the  characters  of 
the  restored  comedy ;  and  that  it  is  to  be  noted,  in  con- 
sidering Mr.  Daly's  work,  that  he  had  neither  theatrical 
types  nor  tradition  to  guide  him  in  putting  the  Induction 
upon  the  stage. 

As  the  event  is  historical,  the  names  of  the  participants 
ought  to  be  preserved.  The  persons  represented  in  the 
Induction  were  :  A  Lord,  Mr.  George  Clarke ;  Christopher 
Sly,  a  tinker,  Mr.  William  Gilbert;  J  Page,  represent- 
ing a  lady.  Master  Will  Collier;  A  Huntsman,  Mr. 
Thomas  Patten  ;  Players,  Mr.  Frederick  Bond  and  Mr. 
John  Wood  ;    Two  Servants^  Messrs.  Ireton  and  Murphy  ; 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  427 

The  Hostess,  Miss  May  Sylvie.  Persons  represented  in 
the  play  performed  :  Baptista,  a  rich  gentleman  of 
Padua,  Mr.  Charles  Fisher ;  Fincentio,  an  old  gentleman 
of  Pisa,  Mr.  John  Moore ;  Lucentio,  son  to  Vincentio, 
loving  Bianca,  Mr.  Otis  Skinner ;  Petruchio,  a  gentleman 
of  Verona,  suitor  to  Katherine,  Mr.  John  Drew ;  Gremio, 
an  old  gentleman,  Hortensio,  a  young  gentleman,  suitors 
to  Bianca,  Mr.  Charles  Leclercq  and  Mr.  Joseph  Hol- 
land ;  A  Pedant,  an  old  fellow  set  up  to  represent  Vin- 
centio, Mr.  John  Wood  ;  J  Tailor,  Mr.  George  Parkes ; 
Grumio,  serving  man  to  Petruchio,  Mr.  James  Lewis ; 
Biondello  and  Tranio,  servants  to  Lucentio,  Mr.  E.  P. 
Wilks  and  Mr.  Frederick  Bond  ;  guests,  singers,  &c.,  by 
Miss  Filkins,  Miss  Amber,  Miss  Ratcliff,  Miss  Campbell, 
Messrs.  Ireton,  Murphy,  Patten,  &c. ;  Katherine,  the 
Shrew,  Miss  Ada  Rehan  ;  Bianca,  her  sister.  Miss  Virginia 
Dreher ;  A  Widow,  who  marries  Hortensio,  Miss  Jean 
Gordon ;  Curtis,  of  Petruchio's  household,  Mrs.  G.  H. 
Gilbert. 

The  charm  of  the  performance  was  recorded  in  the 
really  remarkable  praises  of  the  press  on  the  following 
morning.  "Even  the  critics  were  seen  to  applaud." 
When  the  critics  of  the  daily  and  weekly  papers  had  unan- 
imously concurred  in  praising  the  production,  the  editorial 
columns  of  the  journals  took  up  the  theme. 

Among  the  visitors  to  the  new  play  were  John  Hay 
from  Washington,  General  Sherman  and  his  brother 
John  the  Senator,  William  M.  Chase  the  artist,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lester  Wallack,  the  Reverend  Henry  Ward  Beecher 
and  Mrs.  Beecher,  and  "the  oldest  woman  member  of 
the  press  in  New  York"  —  Mrs.  Croly  —  "Jennie  June," 
Mr.  Beverly  Chew  reminded  the  manager,  long  before  the 
production,  of  his  promise  of  a  copy  of  the  play,  if  printed, 
to  add  to  his  collection,  writing:  "I  need  hardly  say  to 


428  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

you  that  as  a  student  and  lover  of  the  old  drama,  your 
annual  revivals  are  looked  forward  to  as  the  brightest 
event  in  the  whole  amusement  season."  The  play  was 
printed.  As  a  souvenir  of  the  production,  a  printed 
copy  of  the  book  was  distributed  to  the  audience  on  the 
hundredth  performance.  There  were  some  copies  on 
large  paper,  and  mine  bore  on  the  cover  in  my  brother's 
hand,  the  inscription  : 

"To  you,  my  dear  Brother,  with  all  my  heart  I  send  this 
souvenir  of  the  great  triumph  at  our  theatre. 

Augustin  Daly. 
April  13,  '87." 

Mr.  J.  Scott  Hartley  on  Mr.  Daly's  order  executed  a 
bust  of  Miss  Rehan  as  Katherine,  and  reproduced  it  in 
marble  and  in  bronze.  Mr.  Eliot  Gregory's  portrait  of 
her  in  the  character  was  presented  by  Mr.  Daly  to  the 
Stratford  Library.  Another  vivid  portrait  by  Hilary 
Bell  was  hung  in  the  foyer  of  the  theatre. 

The  chief  interest  centred  upon  the  interpretation  by 
Miss  Rehan  and  Mr.  Drew  of  parts  which  had  been 
made  familiar  by  great  names  in  art.  These  two  artists 
were  the  representatives  hitherto  of  drawing-room  parts. 
Petruchio  might  have  been  a  coarse  farceur,  or  a  mere 
ruffian,  or,  worst  of  all,  a  cynical  brute  ;  but  Drew  imagined 
a  different  being.  He  was  of  course  virile,  forcible,  and 
buoyantly  romantic;  but  the  wonder  was  how  Drew's 
polish,  so  appropriate  to  drawing-room  comedy,  would 
suit  the  rugged  utterance  of  an  adventurer  of  the  bandenere 
type;  the  wonder  grew  that  it  was  found  not  unbecoming 
in  Petruchio. 

The  Katherine  of  Miss  Rehan  was  one  of  the  most 
individual  and  striking  figures  of  the  time.  A  survey 
of  the  known  impersonators  of  the  role  shows  it  to  have 


John  I)ri;\v 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  429 

been  without  a  prototype.  In  stage  legend  it  remains 
unexcelled  for  loftiness  as  well  as  power.  Her  raving 
became  that  of  a  goddess,  or  one  of  those  unconquerable 
women  whom   the  Vikings  worshipped   and  dreaded. 

What  was  particularly  remarked  among  the  many  re- 
markable things  in  this  memorable  production  was  that 
the  story  of  the  wooing  of  Bianca  by  the  rivals  Lucentio, 
Gremio,  and  Hortensio,  and  the  plot  by  which  the  young 
suitors  are  introduced  in  the  disguise  of  tutors,  with  the 
incident  of  the  roguish  Pedant,  —  the  "deceiving  father 
of  a  deceitful  son, "  —  became  as  interesting  to  the  audience 
as  the  principal  theme  of  the  play.  In  restoring  this 
underplot  as  well  as  the  Induction  and  giving  to  it  the 
full  value  that  Shakespeare  intended,  Mr.  Daly  doubly 
demonstrated  his  comprehension  of  dramatic  values. 
Garrick,  the  actor-manager,  seemed  to  have  been  want- 
ing where  Daly,  as  the  dramatist-manager,  had  the  truer 
insight.  To  the  skill,  grace,  culture,  and  intelligence  of 
Miss  Virginia  Dreher,  Mr.  Otis  Skinner,  Mr.  Frederick 
Bond,  Mr.  Charles  Leclercq,  and  Mr.  Joseph  Holland,  to 
whom  Mr.  Daly  intrusted  the  story  of  the  wooing  of 
Bianca,  was  due  the  success  of  that  part  of  the  restora- 
tion. 

The  part  of  Grumio,  the  humorous  servant  of  a  hu- 
morous master,  in  the  old  acceptance  of  the  adjective,  was 
now  undertaken  by  James  Lewis  for  the  first  time,  and 
became  identified  with  him,  as  Katherine  and  Petruchio 
were  with  Miss  Rehan  and  Mr.  Drew,  for  nearly  a  gener- 
ation. There  were  many  traditions  of  the  stage  for  the 
part  of  Grumio,  transmitted  from  one  *'  first  low  comedian  " 
to  another;  but  it  was  observable  at  once  that  there  was 
something  of  the  finer  touch  in  this  Grumio,  as  well  as  in 
his  master  Petruchio.  Mrs.  Gilbert  of  course  was  Curtis ; 
now,  by  custom  for  a  time  whereof  memory  runs  not  to 


430  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

the  contrary,  represented  as  a  female  servant,  and  not  a 
male  retainer.  Even  the  careful  Hamilton  Bell,  who 
designed  the  costumes  for  this  production  as  he  did  for 
"The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,"  confessed  that  he  had 
fallen  into  the  traditional  error.  The  point  is  touched 
upon  in  a  witty  conceit  of  Life  (published  after  the  hun- 
dredth performance  of  the  play)  : 

"Empyrean  Depths, 

Ye  14th  daye  of  Aprille, 

...  t;.        ,    T^  ,  (Newe  Style),  1887. 

My  deare  rrende  Dalye  : 

Inne  company  with  my  goode  frende  Baconne  —  whom  you 
may  rememberre  as  ye  author  of  my  playes  —  I  occupied  on 
yester  e'en  a  front  seat  atte  the  One  Hundredth  performance 
of  'Ye  Taming  of  ye  Shrew'  in  youre  most  charmyng  playhouse. 
I  wolde  we  had  so  coole  a  place  to  sitte  in  for  alle  tyme. 

Egad,  I  never  knew  I  wrote  so  well,  and  Baconne,  e'en  that 
sour,  crusty  philosopher,  did  clappe  his  crumblyng  fingerres 
till  ye  duste  did  fly  from  out  them  whenne  ye  curtain  fell  upon 
act  ye  first. 

Inne  act  ye  seconde  ye  scenes  did  so  afi^ect  me  that  in  ye 
spirit  I  didde  yelle  for  joy,  and  Baconne,  too,  did  rolle  his 
eyes  as  if  ye  Deville  didde  possesse  him. 

The  temper  of  ye  Rehanne,  deare  frende,  did  make  me  gladde, 
and  when  ye  Dreher  walked  uponne  ye  stage,  Baconne  did  ask 
that  I  shulde  pinche  hym,  lest  it  be  a  dream. 

I  alwayes  thought  that  Curtis  was  a  man,  but  now  that 
Madam  Gilbert  takes  his  lines,  I'm  gladde  his  sex  is  changed. 

And  Drewe !  Ah  me !  why  had  we  not  this  buoyant  glad- 
some youth  in  olden  tyme,  with  Skinner  for  ye  Florentine, 
and  roaryng  Lewis,  that  our  sides  shulde  ache  for  laughing ! 

Ah,  Sir  Dalye !  would  that  we  two  had  walked  togetherre  in 
ye  dayes  of  good  Queen  Bess.  How  we  had  made  thyngs 
humme !  Ye  starres !  what  wealth,  what  honours  had  been 
ours  had  not  the  centuries  come  between  us,  and  what  greater 
immortality  had  been  mine  when  shared  with  you  ! 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  431 

I  give  you  joy,  deare  frende  —  ay,  benefactor ;    and  in  ye 
language  of  ye  market  place,  I  pray  you  'Keepe  it  uppe!' 
Thine  ever,  with  affecsyon  and  gratitude, 

Wm.  Shakespeare. 

P.S.  —  Baconne,  who  never  yet  did  care  for  ye  'Taming  of 
ye  Shrew,'  nowe  claimes  its  authorshippe." 

When  Augustin  felt  that  he  had  succeeded  to  the  utmost 
of  his  hopes,  he  loved  to  call  his  friends  around  him  to 
share  his  satisfaction.  On  the  one  hundredth  night  of 
the  "Taming  of  the  Shrew,"  the  first  instance  of  such  an 
extended  run  for  a  Shakespearian  comedy,  he  invited  some 
fifty  persons  to  "a  little  supper"  on  Wednesday  night, 
April  13,  1887,  at  twelve  o'clock,  on  the  stage  of  Daly's 
Theatre,  to  celebrate  the  event.  The  guests  found  them- 
selves in  a  pavilion  enclosing  the  whole  stage  and  shutting 
it  off  from  the  auditorium.  A  round  table  twenty-eight 
feet  across  displayed  in  the  centre  a  bed  of  yellow  roses, 
jonquils,  and  tulips.  Around  the  table  were  General  Sher- 
man and  Miss  Sherman,  General  Horace  Porter,  Horace 
Howard  Furniss,  L.  Clarke  Davis,  Elihu  Vedder,  Samuel 
L.  Clemens,  Lawrence  Hutton,  Justice  Richard  O'Gor- 
man,  Stephen  H.  Olin,  Dr.  J.  W.  Dowling,  Oliver  L. 
Jones,  William  Winter,  John  Foord,  E.  A.  Dithmar,  J. 
A.  Mitchell,  W.  F.  G.  Shanks,  Julius  Chambers,  Bronson 
Howard,  Edgar  Fawcett,  Eliot  Gregory,  Marshall  P. 
Wilder,  A.  C.  Milne,  Wilson  Barrett,  Lester  Wallack, 
Miss  Rehan,  Miss  Virginia  Dreher,  Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert, 
Miss  May  Irwin,  Miss  St.  Quentin,  Miss  Rose  Eytinge, 
and  Messrs.  John  Drew,  Otis  Skinner,  George  Clarke, 
James  Lewis,  Charles  Fisher,  Charles  Leclercq,  Joseph 
Holland,  William  Gilbert,  Frederick  Bond,  James  Roberts, 
Richard  Dorney,  C.  F.  Chatterton,  John  A.  Duff,  and 
James   C.   Duff.     General   Sherman,   as   toastmaster,   in- 


432  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

troduced  Mark  Twain  as  the  foremost  wit,  liumorist,  and 
philosopher  of  his  time,  who  had  once  told  him  that  he 
could  not  make  an  impromptu  speech  unless  he  had  four 
days  for  preparation.     Mr.  Clemens  replied  gravely  : 

"I  am  glad  to  be  here.  This  is  the  hardest  theatre  in  New 
York  to  get  into,  even  at  the  front  door  —  I  never  got  in  without 
hard  work.  Two  or  three  years  ago  I  had  an  appointment  to 
meet  Mr.  Daly  on  the  stage  of  this  theatre  at  eight  o'clock  in 
the  evening.  I  got  on  a  train  at  Hartford  to  come  to  New 
York  and  keep  the  appointment.  All  I  had  to  do  was  to  come 
to  the  back  door  of  the  theatre  on  Sixth  Avenue.  I  didn't 
believe  that  —  didn't  believe  it  could  be  on  Sixth  Avenue  — 
but  that's  what  Daly's  note  said  —  come  to  that  door,  walk 
right  in  and  keep  the  appointment.  It  looked  easy  enough, 
but  I  hadn't  much  confidence  in  that  Sixth  Avenue  door.  Well, 
I  was  kind  of  bored  on  the  train,  and  I  bought  some  newspapers 
—  New  Haven  newspapers,  —  and  there  wasn't  much  news 
in  them,  so  I  read  the  advertisements.  There  was  one  adver- 
tisement of  a  'bench  show.'  Now  I'd  heard  of  'bench  shows,' 
and  often  wondered  what  there  was  about  them  to  interest 
people.  I'd  seen  'bench  shows,'  lectured  to  'bench  shows,' 
in  fact  —  but  I  didn't  want  to  advertise  them  or  brag  about 
them.  Well,  I  read  on  a  little,  and  learned  that  a  bench  show 
was  not  a  bench  show,  but  dogs ;  not  benches  at  all,  only  dogs. 
I  began  to  get  interested,  and  as  there  was  nothing  else  to  do  I 
read  every  bit  of  that  advertisement.  I  learned  that  the  big- 
gest thing  in  the  bench  show  was  a  St.  Bernard  dog  that  weighed 
one  hundred  and  forty-five  pounds,  which  is  more  than  dogs 
usually  weigh.  Before  I  got  to  New  York  I  was  so  interested 
in  bench  shows  that  I  made  up  my  mind  to  go  to  one  the  first 
chance  I  got. 

Down  on  Sixth  Avenue  near  where  that  back  door  might 
be,  there  wasn't  anything  in  sight  that  looked  like  a  back  door. 
The  nearest  approach  to  it  was  a  cigar  store,  and  I  went  in 
and  bought  a  cigar  —  not  too  expensive,  but  it  cost  enough  to 
pay  for  any  information  I  might  get,  and  leave  the  dealer  a 


THE  LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  433 

fair  profit.  Well,  I  didn't  like  to  be  too  abrupt,  to  make  the 
man  think  me  crazy  by  asking  him  if  that  was  the  way  to 
Daly's  Theatre  —  so  I  started  in  carefully  to  lead  up  to  the 
subject  —  asked  him  first  if  that  was  the  way  to  Castle  Garden. 
When  I  got  to  the  real  question,  and  he  said  he'd  show  me  the 
way,  I  was  astonished. 

He  sent  me  through  a  long  hallway  and  I  found  myself  in 
a  back  yard  ;  then  I  went  through  a  long  passageway  —  and 
into  a  little  room  —  and  there,  before  my  very  eyes,  was  a  big 
St.  Bernard  dog  lying  on  a  bench.  There  was  another  room 
beyond,  and  I  went  in,  and  was  met  by  a  big,  fierce  man  with 
his  fur  cap  on  and  his  coat  off,  who  remarked  : 

'Pfat  do  yez  want.^' 

I  told  him  I  wanted  to  see  Mr.  Daly. 

'Yez  can't  see  Misther  Daly  this  toime  of  night!'  he  re- 
sponded. I  urged  that  I  had  an  appointment  with  Mr.  Daly, 
and  gave  him  my  card,  which  didn't  seem  to  impress  him  much. 

'Yez  can't  go  in,  an'  yez  can't  shmoke  here.  T'row  away 
that  cigar.  If  yez  want  to  see  Misther  Daly  yez'll  have  to  be 
afther  goin'  to  the  front  door  an'  buyin'  a  ticket,  and  then  if 
yez  have  good  luck,  an'  he's  around  that  way,  yez  may  see  him  !' 

I  was  getting  discouraged,  but  I  had  one  resource  left  that 
had  been  of  good  service  in  similar  emergencies.  Firmly  but 
calmly  I  told  him  my  other  name  was  'Mark  Twain,'  and 
awaited  results.     There  were  none. 

'Where's  your  order  to  see  Misther  Daly  .^'  he  asked. 

I  handed  him  the  note  and  he  examined  it  intently. 

'My  friend,'  I  remarked,  'you  can  read  that  better  if  you 
hold  it  the  other  way,'  but  he  took  no  notice  of  the  suggestion, 
and  asked  :   'Where's  Misther  Daly's  name.?' 

'There  it  is,'  I  told  him,  'at  the  top  of  the  page.' 

'That's  all  right,'  he  said,  'that's  where  he  always  puts  it. 
But  I  don't  see  the  "W"  in  his  name.'  And  he  eyed  me  dis- 
trustfully.    Finally  he  asked  : 

'Pfat  did  yez  want  to  see  Misther  Daly  for.?' 

'Business.' 

'Show  business  ?' 


434  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

*Yes.'     It  was  my  only  hope. 

*Pfat  kind  —  t'eayters  ?' 

That  was  too  much.     I  said  'No.' 

'Pfat  kind  of  shows  then  .'" 

'Bench  shows  !'     It  was  risky,  but  I  was  desperate. 

'Bench  shows  is  it?  Where.""  The  big  man's  face  changed 
and  he  began  to  !ook  interested. 

'New  Haven.' 

'New  Haven,  is  it  .^  Ay,  that's  goin' to  be  a  foine  show.  I'm 
glad  to  see  you.     Did  yez  see  a  dog  in  the  other  room  ?' 

'Yes.' 

'How  much  do  yez  t'ink  that  dog  weighs.^' 

'One  hundred  and  forty-five  pounds.' 

'Luk  at  that  now !  You're  a  good  judge  of  dogs  an'  no  mis- 
take. Lie  weighs  all  of  138.  Set  down.  Shmoke !  Go  on, 
shmoke  your  cigar.     I'll  tell  Misther  Daly  you're  here!' 

Well,  in  a  few  minutes  I  was  on  the  stage  shaking  hands 
with  Daly,  and  the  big  man  was  standing  by,  glowing  with 
satisfaction.  'Come  round  in  front,'  said  Daly,  'and  see  the 
performance.  I'll  put  you  in  my  own  box.'  And  as  I  moved 
away  I  heard  my  honest  friend  mutter :   'Well,  he  deserves  it.'" 

So  much  for  Owen's  qualities  as  keeper  of  the  gate. 
When  the  health  of  Mr.  Lester  Wallack  was  proposed, 
he  rose  and  said  with  great  feeling  : 

"...  I  have  nothing  to  utter  but  congratulations.  A 
more  pleasant  task  could  not  fall  to  any  one.  I  congratulate 
Mr.  Daly,  who  has  presented  to  New  York  the  very  perfection 
of  everything  he  has  offered,  I  congratulate  him  on  being  sur- 
rounded tonight  by  his  brilliant  and  accomplished  company, 
and  by  his  many  brilliant  and  sincere  friends,  and  he  has  my 
hearty  and  sincere  wish,  as  a  brother  manager,  that  the  success 
he  has  hitherto  enjoyed  may  accompany  him  for  many  many 
years  to  come.  I  know  —  I  have  reason  to  know  that  Mr. 
Daly's  feelings  toward  me  are  reciprocal.  When  I  hear  —  and 
I  hear  very  often  —  of  the  bickerings  and  the  envies  and  the 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  435 

jealousies  of  the  profession,  tales  of  envious  rivalry  that  exists 
among  managers,  I  can  only  say  they  may  be  right  and  they 
may  be  wrong,  but  as  regards  myself  they  are  wrong  ....  When 
I  wish  Mr.  Daly  every  success,  it  is  not  only  because  he  is  a 
friend  of  mine,  but  because  he  is  a  friend  of  my  profession.  It 
is  because  he  has  for  years,  for  many  years,  with  an  industry 
almost  unparalleled,  persevered  in  giving  everything  he  has  given 
in  a  most  perfect  manner.  That  is  my  humble  opinion  as  an 
old  fellow-manager.  I  am  very  proud  and  very  happy  to  have 
this  opportunity  to  acknowledge  that  fact,  and  it  gives  me  great 
pleasure  to  meet  you  all." 

Looking  back  to  the  night  of  the  "Shrew"  supper,  it 
appears  that  the  address  made  by  Mr.  Wallack  was  the 
last  he  was  destined  to  make  in  public  while  manager  of 
a  theatre.  The  end  of  a  celebrated  career  was  then  ap- 
proaching. Although  there  had  been  rumors  in  theatrical 
circles  of  his  probable  relinquishment  of  the  lease  of  Wal- 
lack's  Theatre  following  an  unsuccessful  season,  in  which 
owing  to  failing  health  he  had  not  been  able  to  play,  it 
was  not  anticipated  that  the  most  historic  theatrical  es- 
tablishment of  New  York  was  soon  to  close.  A  succes- 
sion of  failures  had  brought  the  manager  of  the  famous 
Wallack  Theatre  now  to  where  the  manager  of  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Theatre  had  found  himself  in  1878,  and  without 
the  youth  and  energy  by  which  Daly  had  managed  to  re- 
establish his  fortunes.  Less  than  two  weeks  after  the 
Shrew  supper,  my  brother  received  this  letter : 

"13  West  30th  St.,  New  York,  April  26,  1887. 
Dear  Mr.  Daly :  As  Col.  McCaull  will  occupy  my  theatre  in 
May,  and  as  I  wish  to  bring  out  another  play  that  month  ('The 
Romance  of  a  Poor  Young  Man')  I  write  to  ask,  as  you  close 
after  this  week,  if  you  will  give  that  'Poor  Young  Man'  the 
shelter  of  your  beautiful  house  for  a  couple  of  weeks,  com- 
mencing on  May  16.  • 


436  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

If  you  entertain  the  idea,  and  I  know  you  will  oblige  me  if 
you  can,  we  will  meet  this  week  and  talk  over  the  necessary 
arrangements. 

Yours  always  truly 
Lester  Wallack." 

Mr.  Daly  comprehended  the  spirit  and  the  occasion 
of  the  application,  and  he  replied  immediately  : 

"Daly's  Theatre. 

New  York,  April  27,  1887. 

My  dear  Mr.  Wallack  :  I  will  be  very  glad  to  give  the  shelter 
of  my  house  to  your  very  charming  'Poor  Young  Man,'  which 
I  recollect  with  pleasure  as  one  of  the  very  brightest  successes 
of  Wallack's  Theatre  —  under  whose  roof  I  drank  in  my  earliest 
draughts  of  refreshing  comedy.  I  had  intended  giving  my 
theatre  into  the  hands  of  painters  and  carpenters  next  week 
after  closing  my  own  season,  but  I  can  readily  defer  their  work 
for  a  few  weeks  and  be  prepared  to  receive  your  company  in 
'The  Romance  of  a  Poor  Young  Man,'  or  any  of  your  other 
comedies  which  it  may  suit  you  to  give  in  the  time  which  I 
gladly  place  at  your  disposal,  beginning  May  16. 

Be  kind  enough  to  name  the  day  and  hour  we  shall  meet  to 
arrange  the  details,  and  believe  me  very  sincerely, 

Augustin  Daly." 

The  farewell  performances  of  the  Wallack  company 
began  therefore  in  Daly's  Theatre,  May  16,  1887.  The 
occasion  attracted  the  attention  of  the  public  journals, 
and  the  long  and  honorable  record  of  the  Wallack  man- 
agement was  feelingly  recalled.  Of  the  older  favorites 
John  Gilbert  and  Mme.  Ponisi  alone  remained  ;  Wallack 
himself  was  too  ill  to  play.  When  the  curtain  fell  for  the 
last  time  on  the  Wallack  company  in  New  York  on  May 
28,  1887,  it  closed  a  stage  record  which  for  thirty-five 
years  had  been  identified  with  the  social  life  of  New  York 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  437 

and  which  had  rendered  great  service  to  art  and  to  the 
public  welfare. 

The  programme  of  the  last  performance  of  the  famous 
Wallack  company  will  be  interesting,  and  I  give  it  in  full  : 

DALY'S  THEATRE 

Bill  of  The  Play 

This  Saturday  evening,  May  28th,  1887 

Farewell  Performance  of 

Mr.  Wallack's  Company 

and  last  time  in  this  theatre  of  the  special  production  of 
"The  Romance  of  a  Poor  Young  Man." 

At  8  :  15  o'clock 

Will  be  acted  for  the  last  time  here  Mr.  Lester  Wallack  and 
Mr.  Pierrepont  Edward's  adaptation  of  Octave  Feuillet's 
celebrated  Play,  entitled 

The  Romance  of  a  Poor  Young  Man 
With  the  following  distribution  of  characters  : 

Prologue 

Dr.  Desmarets,  of  the  French  Army    .     Mr.  John  Gilbert 
Manuel,  Marquis  de  Champcey      .     .     Mr.  Kyrle  Bellew 
Louise  Van  Berger,  formerly  nurse  to 
Manuel,  now  keeper  of  a  lodging- 
house   Miss  E.  Blaisdell 

The  Drama 

Dr.  Desmarets Mr.  John  Gilbert 

Manuel,  Steward  to  Mr.  Laroque  .     .  Mr.  Kyrle  Bellew 

M.  de  Bevannes,  a  man  of  the  world  Mr.  H.  Hamilton 
Gaspar  Laroque,  an  aged  man,  formerly 

Captain  of  a  Privateer    ....  Mr.  E.  J.  Henley 


438  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Alain,  a  confidential  valet      ....  Mr.  Chas.  Herbert 

M.  Mouret,  a  notary Mr.  W.  H.  Pope 

Yvonnet,  a  Breton  shepherd       .     .     .  Mr.  Herbert  Ayling 

Henri Mr  S.  DuBois 

Louis Mr.  J.  W.  Totten 

Frangois Mr.  Howard  W.  Perry 

Marguerite,     daughter     of     Madame 

Laroque Miss  Annie  Robe 

Madame  Laroque,  daughter-in-law  to 

Caspar Mme.  Ponisi 

Mile.  Helouin,  a  governess     ....  Miss  Helen  Russell 
Mme.  Aubrey,  a  relative  of  the  Laroque 

family Miss  Fanny  Addison 

Christine,  a  Breton  peasant  girl       .     .  Miss  Carrie  Elberts 
Guests,  Servants,  Peasantry,  etc.,  etc. 

Vocal  music  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  W.  D.  Marks 
Synopsis  of  Scenery  and  Incidents 

Prologue  —  Paris.  Manuel's  Apartments  at  Mme.  Van  Ber- 
ger's  Lodging-house.     Poverty,  Fidelity  and  Friendship. 

Act  I  —  Brittany.  Parlor  and  Terrace  at  the  Chateau  Laroque 
with  view  of  the  Park.  The  Arrival.  The  First  Day 
and  its  Events. 

{A  supposed  lapse  of  Two  Months) 

Act  n  —  The  Park  and  Chateau  Laroque  in  the  distance. 
Temptations,  Trials  and  Resolutions. 

Act  HI  —  Interior  of  a  Lofty  Tower  in  the  Ruins  of  Elfin,  by 
Moonlight.     Love  and  Honor. 

Act  IV  —  Drawing-room  of  the  Chateau  Laroque.  The  Sac- 
rifice. 

Act  V  —  Salon  opening  on  the  Gardens  and  Grounds  of  the 
Chateau.     The  Last  Trial  and  its  Results. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

On  tour.  Critics  in  California.  Leong  Loey,  the  Chinese  boy.  Pur- 
chases of  curios.  Miss  Wormsley  has  no  picture.  Travel  in  1887. 
Cartoon  in  The  Theatre.  Scribners  Magazine.  Requests  for 
articles.  Colonel  Ingersoll's  opinion  of  the  Shakespeare  cyphers. 
Charities.  George  Clarke  returns.  May  Irwin  stars.  Theatrical 
aspirants.  "The  Damsel  of  Darien."  Brilliant  opening  of  the 
season  of  1887-1888.  Pinero's  "Dandy  Dick."  "The  Railroad 
of  Love."  Third  great  Shakespearian  revival  in  this  theatre, 
"A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream." 

My  brother  now  took  a  lease  of  Number  14  West  Fiftieth 
Street,  and  gathered  there  his  library  and  the  works  of 
art  that  he  had  begun  to  collect  to  replace  those  scattered 
by  the  sale  ten  years  before.  This  letter  tells  of  some 
acquisitions  : 

"Chicago,  June  23,  1887. 

...  I  forgot  to  tell  you  of  a  rare  bit  of  luck  I  think  I  have 
had  in  some  recent  London  purchases  —  made  at  the  Lonsdale 
sale  and  secured  for  me  by  Harvey  of  St.  James  Street.  A  por- 
trait of  Woffington,  catalogued  'by  Hogarth,'  another  —  a 
miniature  of  Peg  —  by  Hone  —  (who  was  he  .?)  and  the  famous 
Gascar  painting  of  Nell  Gwynne.  Harvey  warned  me  they 
might  cost  over  a  thousand  pounds !  They  sold  for  less  than 
£150  (the  three)   .   .  ." 

The  following  spring  he  bought  the  cabinet  or  secretary 
said  to  have  been  used  by  Garrick  in  his  dressing-room  at 
Drury  Lane.  It  was  of  solid  mahogany  ebonized  and 
gilt,  with  many  compartments,  a  writing  desk,  and  a 
drawer  with  a  sliding  mirror  for  making  up.  The  piece 
was    attributed    to   Robert    and   James   Adam,    and    the 

439 


440  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

painted  copper  panels  contained  eight  pictures,  chiefly 
by  Zoff"any  and  Wilson,  including  a  portrait  of  Garrick 
a.?,  Hamlet.  Zoffany's  scenes  included  "Othello,"  "Henry 
IV,"  "The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,"  "The  Mayor  of 
Garratt"  (with  a  portrait  of  Foote),  and  "Love  in  a 
Village,"  with  portraits  of  Beard,  Dunstall,  and  Shuter. 

In  binding  his  books  Augustin  always  inserted,  if 
possible,  a  portrait  of  the  author  or  editor  ;  so  when  Roberts 
of  Boston  published  their  edition  of  Balzac  translated  by 
Miss  Katharine  Wormsley,  he  applied  to  them  for  her 
picture,  and  was  disappointed  on  learning  that  she  had 
never  had  one  taken.  In  his  opinion  the  author  of  a 
published  work  became,  as  the  constitutional  lawyers 
say,  "affected  by  a  public  interest,"  and  bound  to  furnish 
a  counterfeit  presentment  when  asked  for  it  by  the  public. 
About  this  time,  it  may  be  noted,  Mr.  D.  E.  Cronin 
began  his  exquisite  pen-and-ink  illustrations,  some  of 
which  embellished  favorite  books  of  my  brother's. 
These  were  usually  executed  on  the  margin  of  the  page. 

In  San  Francisco,  to  which  Daly  now  paid  a  fourth 
visit,  the  press  gave  a  history  of  his  twenty  years'  labor  ; 
telling  how  he  had  found  the  American  theatre  dominated 
by  the  star  system  (Wallack  even  being  the  star  of  his 
own  troupe)  and  had  resolved  to  form  his  own  upon  the 
French  model,  and  to  look  upon  his  company  as  a  whole, 
regarding  its  strength  as  not  greater  than  its  weakest 
part;  how  he  had  given  to  his  task  indomitable  energy, 
untiring  industry,  and  eighteen  hours  a  day;  had  lived 
for  his  theatre,  and  sick  or  well  had  probably  never  been 
absent  from  any  single  performance  since  it  was  first 
opened. 

My  brother  returned  from  California  with  a  little 
Chinese  boy  about  eleven  years  old,  Leong  Loey  by  name, 
son  of  Leong  Tong  and  Chin  Quai  Tong  his  wife,   the 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  441 

parents  having  consigned  the  infant  to  Mr.  Daly  for  three 
years  by  Instrument  duly  executed  before  the  Chinese 
consul.  He  was  sent  to  school,  lived  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Daly,  and  grew  to  be  very  fond  and  proud  of  them. 
During  the  season  in  New  York  he  was  to  be  seen  at  the 
theatre  in  the  early  part  of  the  evening  dressed  in  his 
Oriental  best,  handing  out  programmes  with  great  gravity, 
and  such  impartiality  that  no  person  could  by  any  scheme 
or  pretence  obtain  more  than  his  or  her  rightful  share. 
Forty  centuries  of  Chinese  civilization  looked  down  upon 
you  as  he  declared:    "No  havee  more  than  one." 

The  trip  of  a  theatrical  company  to  the  Pacific  coast 
in  1887  was  exceedingly  expensive  owing  to  the  law  against 
special   rates.     Augustin  wrote  : 

"...  The  R.  R.  officials  haven't  seen  so  large  a  check  (in 
exact  figures  ^5885)  since  the  interstate  bill,  and  so  they  have 
had  my  check  photographed.  .  .  ." 

After  leaving  Denver,  the  "Silver  City,"  where  the 
audiences  paid  in  "nice,  large,  round,  white,  ringing, 
heavy  old  silver  dollars,"  he  wrote  : 

"...  reaching  Cheyenne  we  found  that  a  cloudburst  had 
washed  out  a  mile  and  a  quarter  of  track.  We  had  to  'lay  over' 
in  one  sleeper  all  night  through  a  drenching  rain,  and  started 
16^  hours  late  for  Ogden.  Arrived  at  5  o'clock  Saturday  morn- 
ing, whereof  course  we  had  to  change  tars,  as  the  Union  Pacific 
ends  and  the  Central  Pacific  begins  at  that  point.  We  found 
that  the  C.  F.  people  had  no  intention  of  taking  us  out  before 
6  o'clock  in  the  evening,  usual  time  of  the  regular  train.  .  .  . 
I  had  to  telegraph  to  San  Francisco,  and  after  wasting  seven 
hours  more  the  Central  Pacific  authorities  finally  consented  to 
hire  me  an  engine  for  $1000  .  .  .  and  after  one  or  two  minor 
interruptions  reached  San  Francisco  on  Sunday  at  8  p.m. 
Heaven  only  knows  what  would  have  been  the  result  of  the 
opening  (at  Baldwin's  theatre  next  day)  if  I  had  not  been  able 


442  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

to  buy  a  special  engine  to  bring  my  company  through  by  Sunday, 
so  as  to  give  them  a  night's  rest  before  playing." 

Which  shows  one  way  in  which  the  money  so  hardly 
earned  in  the  theatrical  business  is  sometimes  disposed  of. 

At  this  time  (1887)  Scribner^s  Magazine  made  its  first 
appearance,  and  on  behalf  of  the  publishers,  Mr.  A.  W. 
Paton  asked  Augustin  to  give  time  to  the  preparation  of 
an  article  : 

"...  in  which  you  tell  the  story  of  your  organizing  the  first 
American  stock  company,  and  of  its  varied  fortunes  until  at 
last,  as  is  evident  by  its  successes  of  past  years,  it  has  become 
one  of  the  institutions  of  the  Country." 

Augustin  never  found  time  to  tell  the  story.  Mr. 
Redpath  of  the  North  American  Review  reminded  him 
now  of  an  old  promise  to  write  on  the  modern  French 
drama,  and  asked  for  a  paper  on  any  subject.  The  Bacon- 
Shakespeare  controversy  was  then  raging,  and  Redpath 
wished  to  know  if  my  brother  had  anything  he  would  like 
to  say  about  it,  adding  : 

"...  Col.  Ingersoll  was  in  the  office  the  other  day  and  said 
that  the  human  race  hitherto  had  been  divided  into  three 
classes  : 

L    Fools. 

IL   D fools. 

in. fools. 

And  that  now  a  fourth  class  had  been  added  :  the  men  with 
the  Bacon  cypher." 

In  addition  to  his  participation  in  the  great  annual 
benefits  for  the  Actors'  Fund  and  the  Protectory,  Augustin 
arranged  this  season  for  several  special  matinees  at  his 
own  theatre,  and  left  to  Archbishop  Corrigan  the  selection 
of  the  beneficiaries.     In  remembrance  of  the  children  he 


THE  LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  443 

had  lost  he  presented  to  the  Church  of  St.  Paul  the  Apostle 
at  ninth  Avenue  and  fifty-ninth  street  a  stained  glass 
window  for  the  sanctuary  and  a  baptismal  font. 

There  were  some  additions  to  the  company  for  the 
season  of  1887-1888,  the  most  notable  being  Miss  Phoebe 
Russell,  a  young  lady  of  a  prominent  Western  family, 
and  our  old  acquaintance  George  Clarke,  who  had  written 
from  Norwich,  Connecticut,  October  21,  1886: 

"...  After  these  many  years  of  ventures  and  roamings  and 
idle  dreamings  I  want  to  go  home  —  and  your  theatre  was  to 
me  the  happiest  home  I  ever  had.   .  .  ." 

Clarke  was  taken  back,  and  ultimately,  on  the  death  of 
John  Moore,  became  stage  manager.  Daniel  Harkins 
also  asked  for  an  interview  with  his  former  manager, 
writing  that  he  "was  once  happy  in  calling  Augustin 
Daly  friend."  Miss  Effie  Shannon  was  a  most  promising 
addition  to  the  company.  There  was  one  loss  —  Miss 
May  Irwin,  who  developed  into  a  star  of  great  attractive- 
ness in  eccentric  broad  comedy.  The  ambitious  Master 
Will  Collier  wrote  to  remind  his  manager  that  he  had 
served  as  call-boy  faithfully  for  five  seasons,  and  that  he 
had  always  aspired  to  be  a  member  of  the  company.  He 
had  played  the  Page  in  the  Induction  to  the  "Taming  of 
the  Shrew"  with  great  credit. 

Now  and  then  I  am  reminded  by  old  memoranda  of  the 
care  my  brother  took  of  every  person  connected  with  the 
theatre.  There  is  an  ill-spelled  letter  from  some  poor 
cleaner  who  had  been  discharged  by  a  superior-sub- 
ordinate, and  had  plucked  up  courage  to  make  her  plaint 
to  Mr.  Daly.  It  bears  his  indorsement  to  the  business 
manager,  Mr.  Richard  Dorney  :  "See  what  the  trouble 
is.     Ask  Lizzie,  and  see  the  woman  herself." 

There  were  as  usual,  but  now  in  greater  numbers  than 


444  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

usual,  applicants  for  places  in  what  was  regarded  as  a 
school  of  acting.  Senator  Stewart  wrote  on  behalf  of  his 
niece,  Miss  Aldrich  ;  General  Sherman  for  Miss  Stacey, 
daughter  of  an  old  comrade ;  Zimmerman,  the  Philadelphia 
manager,  on  behalf  of  George  W.  Childs  for  Miss  Vislase  ; 
the  widow  of  Dan  Bryant  for  her  daughter;  and  there 
were  applications  from  the  daughters  of  Robert  Craig 
(of  the  old  Roi  Garotte  days)  and  from  Miss  Nellie  Lin- 
gard,  daughter  of  the  one-time  partner  of  George  L. 
Fox.  Some  of  the  debutantes  of  the  "Royal  Middy" 
days  were  heard  from,  as  well  as  other  professionals  then, 
or  soon  to  be,  well  known  —  Rose  Eytinge,  who  called 
him  "the  kindest  friend  that  ever  woman  had";  Kate 
Vaughan,  the  English  dancer  ;  Loie  Fuller,  and  Jefferson  de 
Angelis,  who  wrote  that  he  had  had  "twenty  years  on  the 
stage  and  only  thirty  years  of  existence  altogether." 

New  plays  were  offered,  including  one  from  the  inde- 
fatigable Boucicault,  who  was  now  ready  to  turn  his  hand 
to  anything,  even  to  adapting;  but  after  one  or  two 
trials  he  gave  that  up.  Wilkie  Collins  proposed  a  drama- 
tization of  his  last  story ;  Julian  Hawthorne  and  his 
brother-in-law,  George  Parsons  Lathrop,  were  at  work 
upon  a  play ;  Mary  Kyle  Dallas,  Mrs.  Craigie,  and  J. 
Huntley  McCarthy  were  similarly  engaged ;  Blanche 
Willis  Howard  offered  her  "Bachelor  Ladies,"  Jerome 
K.  Jerome  a  farce  in  one  act,  and  Anna  Katherine  Green  a 
dramatization  of  her  latest  novel.  American  dramatists 
were  further  represented  by  J.  C.  Verplanck,  G.  E.  Mont- 
gomery, Lucy  Rider,  and  Edmund  Terry,  a  member  of 
the  New  York  bar.  A  quaint  proposition  came  from  Mr. 
Thomas  Duff,  an  old  actor  of  leading  "heavies,"  son  of 
Mrs.  Mary  Duff,  a  favorite  of  the  old  Park  Theatre  days, 
whose  portrait  hangs  in  The  Players.  She  had  in  years 
gone  by  dramatized  an  American  historical  romance  of 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  445 

the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  by  Dr.  Bird  (author  of  Forrest's 
"Gladiator"),  entitled  "The  Damsel  of  the  Darien," 
and  her  son  now  offered  the  interesting  manuscript  to 
Mr.  Daly  "to  fit  to  the  public  taste  for  a  long  run." 

The  season  opened  on  the  evening  of  October  5,  1887, 
with  a  new  farce  by  Pinero,  "Dandy  Dick,"  satirizing  the 
sportswomen  of  Great  Britain,  their  language  and  their 
manners.  It  was  quite  out  of  the  line  of  Daly's  Theatre, 
but  was  presented  with  vivacity.  Miss  Rehan  became 
a  typical  "sporting  Duchess,"  but  much  more  surprising 
was  Drew,  made  up  to  represent  a  wilted  old  military  beau 
of  dejected  mien,  given  to  small  "at  homes,"  where  he 
played  a  melancholy  flute,  accompanying  Lieutenant 
Darbey  (Skinner)  as  first  violin.  A  finished  bit  of  decep- 
tion was  the  simulated  playing  by  Drew  and  Skinner  to 
a  piano  accompaniment  by  Miss  Shannon.  The  first- 
night  audience,  a  crowded  and  most  distinguished  one, 
was  greatly  entertained  by  the  farce,  which  was,  however, 
acted  only  thirty-two  times.  It  then  gave  way  to  a  new 
German  comedy. 

"The  Railroad  of  Love,"  Daly's  adaptation  of  "Gold- 
fische,"  the  work  of  Von  Schonthan  and  Kadelburg, 
was  one  of  the  daintiest  as  well  as  the  strongest  comedies 
ever  done  at  Daly's  Theatre.  The  acting  of  Miss  Rehan 
and  Mr.  Drew  in  the  delicious  episodes  of  the  play  elicited 
extraordinary  praise.  On  the  first  night  Henry  Irving 
and  Miss  Ellen  Terry  occupied  a  box,  and  during  the  run 
of  the  play  Charles  Dickens  the  younger  wrote  : 

"If  Miss  Rehan  and  Mr.  Drew  as  Cousin  Val  and  the  Lieu- 
tenant do  not  make  the  greatest  comedy  success  that  Lon- 
don has  seen  for  years  I  shall  be  very  much  surprised." 

After  the  brilliant  comedy  had  been  acted  over  a 
hundred  times  the  third  great  Shakespearian  revival,  "A 


446  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Midsummer  Night's  Dream,"  succeeded  it  on  January  31, 
1888.  It  was  fifteen  years  since  this  play  had  been  seen 
in  New  York.  It  had  not  been  customary  or  convenient 
to  produce  it  with  a  star  in  any  part  except  that  of 
Bottom;  hence  its  production  was  usually  resorted  to  for 
the  exhibition  of  scenic  effects  or  the  comic  powers  of 
the  low  comedian.  Miss  Rehan  as  Helena,  Mr.  Drew  as 
Demetrius,  Mr.  Skinner  as  Lysander,  and  Mr.  Lewis  as 
Bottom  constituted  a  veritable  star  cast.  The  press  was 
enthusiastic,  and  "A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream"  was 
played  until  the  close  of  the  season,  April  7,  1888. 
This  past  season  was  remarkable  in  that  only  three 
productions  held  the  stage  during  229  performances. 

It  was  during  the  run  of  *'A  Midsummer  Night's 
Dream"  that  the  memorable  blizzard  of  March  12,  1888, 
overwhelmed  the  city.  Notwithstanding  the  difficulties 
of  travel  every  member  of  the  company  was  at  the 
theatre,  and  the  performance  was  given.  Some  members 
of  the  cast  came  from  Brooklyn  and  some  from  Harlem. 
I  believe  that  every  other  theatre  in  the  city  was  closed 
that  night. 

At  the  usual  New  Year's  Eve  gathering  in  the  Woffing- 
ton  room  Mr.  Daly  divided  a  portion  of  this  season's 
profits  among  the  members  of  his  company  who  had  been 
longest  with  him.  He  was  able  also  this  year  to  give  his 
father-in-law,  John  A.  DuflF,  very  substantial  financial  aid 
after  a  bad  season  at  the  Standard. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

Literary  work.  "Woffington,  a  Tribute  to  the  Actress  and  the  Woman, 
by  Augustin  Daly."  American  and  EngHsh  reviewers.  Daly's 
tribute  to  his  own  company,  "A  Portfolio  of  Players,"  written  by 
several  hands  and  published  by  the  manager.  Demonstration  by 
the  profession  for  Lester  Wallack  upon  his  retirement.  A  benefit 
performance  got  up  by  Booth,  Barrett,  Palmer,  and  Daly.  Corre- 
spondence. Volunteers.  "Hamlet"  given  by  a  remarkable  cast. 
$20,000  realized  for  Mrs.  Wallack.  Fates  of  actor-managers 
compared.  Death  of  Wallack.  Subsequent  history  of  Wallack's 
Theatre.  A.  M.  Palmer  takes  it  and  changes  the  name  to  "Pal- 
mer's Theatre."  Richard  Mansfield's  first  great  success  made 
there.  Stars  introduced.  Name  restored  when  Palmer  leaves. 
John  Gilbert  would  have  engaged  with  Daly,  but  his  death  pre- 
vented.    Founding  of  The  Players  by  Booth  and  his  associates. 

One  of  the  most  sumptuous  volumes  ever  devoted  to  the 
biography  of  a  player  is  the  life  of  Margaret  Woffington 
published  by  Daly  in  this  year,  1888,  after  long  prepara- 
tion. In  his  preface  the  author  tells  of  the  charm  which 
her  name  had  had  for  him  long  before  he  found  her 
idealized  in  Charles  Reade's  novel,  and  of  his  surprise 
that  no  biographer  had  done  for  her  what  Cunningham 
has  done  for  Nell  Gwyn  and  Boaden  for  Mrs.  Jordan  : 

"  I  found  the  large-hearted  and  clear-headed  Woffington  al- 
vi^ays  faithful  to  the  management  of  the  theatre  in  which  she  was 
engaged  ;  consulting  the  interests  of  the  public  rather  than 
listening  to  the  promptings  of  vanity  or  to  the  injudicious 
flattery  of  friends.  Never  would  she  disappoint  an  audience 
or  abet  an  insurrection  against  the  orderly  administration  of 
the  theatre.  I  find  her  in  London,  and  in  Dublin  also,  when  at 
the  very  apex  of  public  admiration,  surrendering  leading  parts 

447 


448  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

in  plays  to  lesser  performers,  and  accepting  seconds.  She  was 
rewarded  for  all  this  by  a  popularity  which  has  never  been  sur- 
passed in  the  history  of  the  stage." 

Mr.  Daly's  work  was  praised  by  the  reviewers  in 
England  and  America.  They  noted  that  the  real  story 
of  Peg  Woffington  had  never  before  been  written,  and 
that  it  was  now  simply  and  clearly  told  in  this  book,  in 
which  the  statements  of  fact  were  convincing,  the  infer- 
ences logical,  and  the  remarks  of  the  author  upon  theatrical 
matters  valuable  as  expert  testimony.  "To  Mr.  Daly 
must  belong  the  credit  of  writing  a  memoir  of  searching 
truth  and  accuracy  which  for  the  first  time  puts  his  subject 
before  us  sympathetically,  naturally,  tenderly,  with  all 
her  faults,  failings,  and  many  virtues  contrasted,  and  the 
story  of  her  life  told  at  last  with  the  'rarity  of  Christian 
charity'  that  so  few  biographers  possess.  .  .  .  Another 
conspicuous  value  of  this  memoir  is  the  fact  that  it  has 
been  written  by  one  who  has  spent  his  life  amongst  stage 
people,  who  knows  them  by  heart,  who  understands  their 
trials  and  temptations.  .  .  .  No  one  who  looks  at  Peg 
Woffington's  handsome,  kindly  face  or  reads  carefully 
through  the  details  of  her  generous  life  will  be  likely  to 
agree  with  Horace  Walpole,  who  loved  to  be  in  a  minority 
and  could  only  think  her  'an  impudent  Irish-faced  girl !'" 

Of  the  book,  which  was  a  royal  quarto,  but  one  hundred 
and  fifty  copies  were  printed,  and  Bouton,  the  book-seller, 
was  allowed  a  small  number  to  sell.  The  rest  were  given 
away.  Some  "large  paper"  copies  were  struck  off,  and 
two  copies  were  printed  on  thick  paper  on  one  side  of  the 
leaf  only. 

Mr.  Daly  prized  his  own  company  to  an  extent  im- 
possible to  any  mere  hirer  of  professional  labor  —  only 
the  Inspirer  of  effort  and  creator  of  opportunity  being  ca- 
pable of  it ;  and  now  he  resolved  to  offer  its  chief  members 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  449 

an  enduring  testimonial.  Brander  Matthews,  Lawrence 
Hutton,  A.  C.  Bunner,  and  William  Winter  were  invited  to 
contribute  to  a  volume  to  be  called  "A  Portfolio  of  Players 
with  a  Packet  of  Notes  Thereon."  There  were  portraits 
of  Miss  Rehan,  Lewis,  Miss  Dreher,  Mrs.  Gilbert,  Drew, 
and  Fisher.  Mr.  Winter  furnished  a  paper  upon  the 
stage,  past  and  present,  and  Mr.  Dithmar  an  account  of 
the  room  in  Daly's  Theatre  where  the  plays  were  read  to 
the  company.  At  the  end  of  the  volume  we  find  verses 
by  Mr.  Bunner  :  "To  a  reader  of  the  twenty-first  cen- 
tury," concluding  : 

"You  have  the  pictures  and  the  names 
That  are  but  Yours  as  they  are  Fame's; 
See  them,  O  dim  potential  shade. 
Even  as  we  see  them  now  arrayed ; 
Try  to  put  nature's  vital  hue 
Into  the  faces  that  you  view ; 
And  think,  while  fancy  labors  thus, 
This  all  is  breathing  life  to  us." 

A  portrait  of  Mr.  Daly  was  followed  by  a  copy  of  Sarony's 
large  picture,  "The  Reading  of  a  Play,"  to  illustrate  Dith- 
mar's  article,  showing  the  above-named  performers  to- 
gether with  Mr.  Skinner,  Mr.  Gilbert,  Mr.  Clarke,  Mr. 
Leclercq,  Mr.  Bell,  Mr.  Moore,  Mr.  Holland,  Miss  Phoebe 
Russell,  Miss  Fanny  Morant,  Miss  Bijou  Fernandez, 
and  the  Chinese  boy,  Leong  Loey,  as  auditors  surrounding 
Mr.  Daly. 

The  event  of  Mr.  Wallack's  recent  retirement  from 
management  and  from  the  stage  was  not  to  pass  unnoticed 
by  managers,  actors,  and  public.  As  early  as  December, 
1886,  Mr.  Daly  and  Mr.  Palmer  had  exchanged  views 
concerning  some  public  expression  of  professional  regard 
for    Wallack  —  then    incapacitated    by    illness.     Booth, 


450  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Lawrence  Barrett,  and  Jefferson  were  taken  into  their 
confidence,  and  Florence,  Madame  Janauschek,  and  Wil- 
son Barrett  were  asked  to  participate.  Action  was  de- 
layed for  a  season  at  Mr.  Wallack's  suggestion,  but  in 
1888  the  following  correspondence  was  made  public  : 

"New  York,  March  10,  1888. 

Dear  Mr.  Wallack  —  We  are  very  anxious  to  testify  in  some 
special  manner  our  regard  for  the  manager  and  artist  who 
for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  been  the  leader  and 
chief  of  our  guild.  A  year  ago  we  proposed  that  you  per- 
mit us  to  inaugurate  some  public  demonstration  in  your 
honor,  but  you  did  not  seem  to  think  it  timely.  We  feel 
now  like  insisting  upon  your  acceptance  of  the  expression 
of  regard  which  we  are  sure  that  all  your  managerial  co- 
laborers,  your  professional  brethren,  your  journalistic  ad- 
mirers and  your  social  friends  are  but  waiting  for  a  word 
from  you  to  utter  in  the  fulness  of  their  hearts.  We  have 
thought  of  some  exceptional  play  with  a  unique  cast  as  giving 
the  most  fitting  outlet  for  this  sentiment,  and  as  aff^ording  the 
best  opportunity  to  unite  every  element  of  friendly  interest  in 
your  behalf,  and  we  beg  that  you  will  favorably  consider  the 
spirit  in  which  we  urge  your  present  acceptance  of  our  proposal. 
We  also  beg  of  you  an  early  reply,  in  order  that  we  may  fix  a 
date  within  the  limits  of  the  present  season  for  the  contem- 
plated performance. 

Augustin  Daly, 
A.  M.  Palmer." 

Mr.  Wallack's  reply: 

"No.  213  West  Twenty-fourth  Street 
March  24,  1888. 

Dear  Mr.  Daly,  Dear  Mr.  Palmer :  — 

The  reception  of  your  letter  of  the  19th  is  the  most  valued 
and  gratifying  incident  of  a  long  and  somewhat  eventful 
professional  life. 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  451 

You  ask  me  to  favorably  consider  the  spirit  in  which  you  urge 
my  acceptance  of  your  proposal.  All  I  can  say  is  that  the 
spirit  and  tone  of  the  letter  is  so  kind,  so  considerate,  so  flatter- 
ing, that  I  should  deem  it  ungracious  in  me  did  I  make  any 
reply  but  one  of  willing  and  grateful  acceptance.  Need  I  add 
that,  coming  as  it  does  from  old  friends  and  fellow  managers, 
it  has  a  double  value.  One  thing  I  would  suggest :  —  If  you 
could  point  out  in  the  disposing  of  the  pecuniary  result  some 
way  by  which  I  could  adequately  convey  my  feeling  that  my 
chief  and  by  far  my  greatest  gratification  is  the  honor  conferred 
upon  me,   I  should  take  a  still  greater  pride  in  accepting  it. 

Believe  me  most  sincerely  yours 

Lester  Wallack." 

The  demonstration  was  to  be  in  the  form  of  a  dramatic 
entertainment.     Mr.   Booth  wrote  : 

"A  varied  bill  for  such  an  occasion  (unless  one  of  Mr.  Wal- 
lack's  performances  were  given)  would  be  by  far  the  strongest 
for  the  masses." 

and  offered  the  fourth  act  of  "Richelieu"  as  his  own  con- 
tribution. Lawrence  Barrett,  writing  to  Mr.  Daly  that 
his  personal  services  and  those  of  his  company  would  be 
gladly  given,  added  : 

"And  I  venture  to  express  the  hope  that  the  aflFair  may  be 
made  worthy  of  the  distinguished  object  by  the  avoidance  of 
those  unworthy  mixtures  which  usually  degrade  such  events. 
To  hold  the  testimonial  in  the  hands  of  the  actors  who  have 
pursued  equal  aims  with  Mr.  Wallack,  and  to  depend  upon  such 
aid  alone,  giving  distinct  and  worthy  representations  of  each 
actor's  speciality,  seems  to  me  the  way  in  which  you  will  be 
certain  to  act  in  this  affair,  which  may  safely  be  trusted  in  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Palmer  and  yourself." 

Mr.  Jefferson  offered  an  act  of  "Rip  Van  Winkle"  or 
"Lend  Me  Five  Shillings,"  saying: 


452  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"They  are  'chestnuts,'  I  know,  but  the  public  still  like  to 
crack  them." 

The  result  of  the  discussion  was  a  great  compliment 
to  Edwin  Booth ;  for  all  the  participants  agreed  upon 
"  Hamlet,"  with  Booth  in  the  role  which  he  had  practically- 
made  his  own  on  the  American  stage,  and  the  most 
eminent  of  the  tragedian's  fellow  players  in  the  remain- 
ing parts.  Barrett  was  to  arrange  the  cast  and  Daly 
and  Palmer  were  to  carry  out  his  views,  if  possible. 

Mr.  Daly  was  delighted  to  announce  that  JeflFerson 
volunteered  at  once  for  the  First  Grave-digger,  and  Florence 
for  the  Second  of  that  famous  pair.  In  a  later  letter 
Barrett  offered  himself  for  Laertes,  announced  John 
Gilbert  for  Polonius,  and,  cogitating  how  to  get  the  bene- 
ficiary himself  on  the  stage  on  the  eventful  night,  added 
a  postscript: 

"Dare  we  say  Osric  to  Wallack .''  Get  behind  a  stone  wall 
and  toss  it  at  him." 

Mr.  Daly  and  Mr,  Palmer  did  not  act  upon  the  suggestion, 
but  reserved  Mr.  Wallack  for  a  speech  which  was  sure 
to  be  demanded.  The  cast  finally  determined  upon  was  : 
Hamlet,  Edwin  Booth ;  The  Ghost,  Lawrence  Barrett ; 
The  King,  Frank  Mayo ;  Polonius,  John  Gilbert ;  Laertes, 
Eben  Plympton ;  Horatio,  John  A.  Lane ;  Rosencranz, 
Charles  Hanford  ;  Guildenstern,  Lawrence  Hanley ;  Osric, 
Charles  Koehler ;  Marcellus,  E.  H.  Vanderfelt ;  Bernardo, 
Herbert  Kelcey ;  Francisco,  Frank  Mordaunt ;  First 
Actor,  Joseph  Wheelock ;  Second  Actor,  Milnes  Levick ; 
First  Grave-digger,  Joseph  Jefferson ;  Second  Grave-digger, 
W.  J.  Florence  ;  Priest,  Harry  Edwards  ;  Ophelia,  Helena 
Modjeska ;  The  Queen,  Gertrude  Kellogg ;  The  Player 
Queen,  Rose  Coghlan. 

But   these    did    not    represent   all    the    stage   favorites 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  453 

who  appeared  ;  for,  when  "  Scene  II,  a  Room  of  State  In  the 
Castle,"  disclosed  the  Court  of  Denmark  with  "Lords  and 
Attendants,"  the  audience  recognized  Rosina  Voices, 
Selina  Dolaro,  Blanche  Weaver,  Louisa  Eldridge,  Ida 
Vernon,  Madame  Ponisi,  Isabelle  Irving,  Courtenay 
Thorpe,  Stella  Boniface,  Katharine  Rogers,  Mrs.  W.  G. 
Jones,  and  many  others.  The  orchestral  music  was 
furnished  by  the  Symphony  Society,  directed  by  Walter 
Damrosch,  who  gave  selections  from  Wagner,  Bach, 
Berlioz,  Saint-Saens,  and  Rubinstein. 

A  vast  throng  filled  the  opera-house.  In  response 
to  its  demand  at  the  close  of  the  second  act,  Mr.  Lester 
Wallack  appeared  and  spoke  his  last  lines  on  the  stage. 
He  said  that  his  gratitude  and  sense  of  the  tribute  could 
not  be  adequately  expressed ;  that  he  would  not  discuss 
his  forty  years  of  endeavor  to  serve  the  public  honestly 
and  faithfully ;  that  he  saw  before  him  evidence  that 
It  believed  in  his  honesty  and  sincerity.  He  quoted 
Charlotte  Cushman,  "Art  is  an  exacting  mistress,  but  she 
repays  with  royal  munificence,"  and  said  that  he  found 
ample  confirmation  of  her  words  in  what  he  now  beheld. 
He  declared  it  a  delicate  matter  to  select  names  from 
the  great  array  on  the  programme  In  order  to  tender  his 
acknowledgments  for  this  magnificent  tribute,  which 
originated  with  two  great  managers  (Palmer  and  Daly) 
and  three  great  actors  (Booth,  Barrett,  and  Jefferson). 
One  great  artist  who  had  appeared  (Mme.  Modjeska)  he 
said  he  had  not  even  the  pleasure  of  knowing  personally; 
he  spoke  of  Miss  Rosina  Vokes,  who  had  closed  her  theatre 
to  assist  with  her  presence  ;  and  concluded  by  thanking  the 
public,  the  press,  the  dramatists,  the  actors  and  actresses, 
the  musicians,  the  mechanics  —  he  excepted  none  —  and 
wishing  he  could  shake  each  by  the  hand. 

The    testimonial    was    a    great    pecuniary    success,     as 


454  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

appears  from  a  letter  of  Mr.  Palmer,  upon  whom,  owing 
to  Mr.  Daly's  departure  for  Europe  with  his  company 
in  April,  the  burden  of  staging  the  performance  devolved, 
with  the  aid  of  his  own  and  Mr.  Daly's  lieutenants  : 

"Madison  Square  Theatre, 

Manager's  Office,  May  22,  1888. 
Dear  Mr.  Daly 

Our  blessed  benefit  is  over  —  thank  God  !  As  you  can  imag- 
ine, I  am  thoroughly  worn  out  with  the  attention  to  petty 
details  which  it  has  required  from  me  during  the  past  three 
weeks.  The  performance  was  really  a  splendid  one.  Booth, 
Jeff^erson  &  Modjeska  covering  themselves  with  glory.  Not 
the  least  pleasing  feature  was  the  auxiliary  corps,  comprised  of 
actors  &  actresses  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  &  fifty.  If  the 
performance  had  achieved  no  other  result  than  to  prove,  as  it 
did,  that  the  members  of  our  profession  will  go  further  than 
those  of  almost  any  other  in  the  direction  of  devotion  to  a  true 
and  lofty  sentiment,  it  would  always  remain  with  me  as  one 
of  the  pleasantest  recollections  of  my  life;  and  I  am  sure  if  you 
had  been  here  this  feature  of  it  would  have  touched  you  deeply. 
...  I  am  glad  to  note  your  new  triumphs  in  England,  and  I 
sincerely  hope  they  will  continue.  Theatrical  matters  are, 
generally,  very  dull  here. 

Yours  sincerely, 

A.  M.  Palmer. 
Augustin  Daly  Esqr. 

I  have  just  handed  Mrs.  Wallack  a  certified  check  for  $20,000. 
The  expenses  were  about  $1700." 

Wallack  was  financially  the  least  fortunate  of  all  the 
great  manager-actors  of  his  time,  perhaps  because,  like 
Henry  Irving,  he  would  not  towards  the  end  abandon  the 
noble  aim  and  duty  of  conducting  a  theatre  upon  high 
principles  of  art  for  the  more  limited  but  more  remunera- 
tive work  of  the  actor.     Burton  retired  with  a  competence  ; 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  455 

Booth  with  a  fortune.  Jefferson  avoided  management. 
Wallack  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  was  forced  to  see  his 
fortunes  decline  and  to  lose  his  theatre.  He  did  not  long 
survive  to  enjoy  the  provision  his  fellow  players  had 
united  to  secure  for  him.  The  cable  of  congratulation 
he  sent  to  Mr.  Daly  upon  the  production  of  "The  Shrew" 
at  the  Gaiety  Theatre  in  London  on  May  7,  1888,  was 
followed  too  soon  by  news  of  his  death. 

Wallack's  Theatre  was  now  in  the  market,  and  rumor 
induced  the  following  cable  from  its  proprietor  to  Mr. 
Daly  in  London  on  July  8  : 

"Any  truth  in  statement  you  want  to  buy  Wallack's  ? 
Answer.     Theodore  Moss." 

But  Mr.  Daly  had  no  such  intention,  and  Mr.  Palmer 
took  it  over  in  October,  changed  its  name  to  "Palmer's 
Theatre"  (which  caused  much  comment),  and  conducted 
it  for  eight  years,  principally  as  a  star  theatre.  After 
that  period  the  name  "Wallack's  Theatre"  was  restored 
by  Mr.  Moss.  Mr.  Palmer's  term  was  notable  for  the 
revelation  of  Mr.  Richard  Mansfield's  extraordinary 
ability  as  the  Baron  Chevrial,  and  the  engagements  of 
Coquelin  and  Mme.  Jane  Hading,  Salvini,  Wyndham,  the 
Kendalls,  and  nearly  all  the  travelling  theatrical  and 
musical  combinations  of  the  day,  alternating  with  Mr. 
Palmer's  own  stock  company. 

The  most  important  member  of  the  old  Wallack  com- 
pany was  John  Gilbert,  and  he  now  turned  to  a  theatre 
and  a  management  for  which  he  had  had  a  very  great 
admiration  for  years  : 

"Wallack's,  New  York, 

,,     J       ,,     T^  ,  March  30,  1888. 

My  dear  Mr.  Daly  :  -^  ' 

If  it  is  not  too  late  do  you  feel  inclined  to  treat  with  me  for 

the  next  season  at  your  Theatre  ? 


456  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Whatever  may  be  the  result  of  this  letter,  I  hope  it  will  not 

interfere  with  the  pleasant  relations  that  have  hitherto  existed 

between  us. 

Very  Respectfully 

Your  obt.  servant 

John  Gilbert." 

Mr.  Gilbert's  engagement  was  prevented  by  his  death. 

The  close  companionship  between  Booth,  Barrett, 
Palmer,  and  Daly  in  the  project  of  honoring  the  veteran 
Wallack  led  to  an  interchange  of  views  upon  the  founding 
in  New  York  of  an  institution  resembling  in  character 
the  Garrick  Club  in  London,  where  the  theatrical  pro- 
fession could  mingle  with  members  of  the  literary  and 
artistic  world.  At  a  luncheon  at  Delmonico's,  where  the 
principals  were  joined  by  Mark  Twain,  Thomas  Bailey 
Aldrich,  Laurence  Hutton,  Brander  Matthews,  Stephen 
H.  Olin,  John  Drew,  James  Lewis,  and  others,  the  pre- 
liminaries were  adjusted  and  the  name  of  "The  Players," 
suggested  by  Mr,  Aldrich,  was  adopted  for  the  new  in- 
stitution. Mr.  Olin  was  commissioned  to  prepare  articles 
of  incorporation.  Stanford  White  immediately  under- 
took the  remodelling  of  No.  i6  Gramercy  Park,  which 
Booth,  with  the  approval  of  his  associates  and  the  assist- 
ance of  his  old  and  valued  friend,  William  Bispham, 
purchased  and  presented  to  The  Players. 


SEVENTH    PERIOD:    1888-1892 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

1888  continued.  Supper  to  Irving  and  Miss  Terry.  Third  visit  to 
England.  Letter  from  The  Times  in  New  York  to  The  Times  in 
London.  "The  Railroad  of  Love"  at  the  Gaiety  Theatre.  "The 
Taming  of  the  Shrew."  The  Americans  entertained  by  John  Hare, 
the  Green  Room  Club,  Justin  McCarthy,  Lady  Jeune,  and  others. 
Luncheon  given  by  the  Lord  Mayor.  Theatrical  business  light. 
Visit  to  Stratford.  First  performance  of  "The  Taming  of  the 
Shrew"  in  Shakespeare's  birthplace.  A  memorable  night.  Many 
courtesies.  Second  visit  of  the  Daly  company  to  Paris.  Shake- 
speare's comedy  condemned.  The  feuilletonists  in  great  form. 
Marvellous  display  of  English.     Praise  of  the  actors. 

Before  taking  his  company  upon  a  third  visit  to  Europe, 
Augustin  gave  a  supper  for  Irving  and  Miss  Terry  at 
Delmonlco's  (March  26)  after  their  season  of  five  weeks 
at  the  Star  Theatre.  The  company  sailed  on  April 
21,  1888. 

He  had  lately  added  to  his  library  the  four  Shakespeare 
folios,  two  copies  of  the  first  edition  of  "Paradise  Lost" 
(one  with  the  poet's  autograph),  a  ten-volume  collection 
of  Garrickana,  and  manuscripts  of  Doctor  Johnson.  His 
old  friend  George  Jones  of  the  New  York  Times  wrote  to 
him  on  April  5  : 

"Your  letter  and  the  two  splendid  volumes  (Woffington  and 
the  'Portfolio  of  Players')  were  received  with  sincere  pleasure 
and  merit  my  warmest  thanks.  I  have  always  felt  that  you 
were  a  graduate  from  The  Times,  and  have  sympathized  with 
you  in  your  troubles  and  rejoiced  In  your  triumphs  and  feel 
that  your  fortune  Is  assured.  I  send  you  a  letter  to  my  dearest 
friend  in  London,  Mr.  MacDonald,  the  manager  of  The  Times. 

459 


46o  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

I  hope  you  will  not  fail  to  deliver  it.  I  want  you  to  see  the 
establishment  under  full  headway,  with  him  as  your  guide.  I 
am  sure  you  will  fall  in  love  with  him  as  I  did  years  ago.  He 
it  was  who  built  our  Presses,  taking  my  son  in  to  learn  all  that 
he  could  show  him.  ...  I  hope  that  your  visit  abroad  will 
be  a  repetition  of  your  last  year's  successes.     More  I  could  not 

ask. 

Faithtully  yours, 

Geo.  Jones." 

"The  Railroad  of  Love"  was  produced  at  the  Gaiety 
Theatre  on  May  3,  1888.  The  scenes  between  Miss 
Rehan   and  Mr.   Drew  caused  great  delight. 

Mr.  Daly  was  made  honorary  member  of  the  Garrick 
and  the  Saville  clubs.  John  Hare,  manager  of  the  St. 
James  Theatre,  gave  him  and  the  company  a  supper  at 
the  Garrick  on  June  9,  at  which  every  distinguished 
London  manager,  dramatic  author,  and  actor  was  present, 
with  Millais,  Henry  James,  Du  Maurier,  Ambassador 
Phelps,  and  the  Earls  of  Lathorn,  Londesborough,  and 
Cork  and  Orrery.  At  the  annual  dinner  of  the  Green 
Room  Club,  Drew,  Lewis,  Skinner,  and  William  Winter 
were  guests  of  honor ;  suppers  at  the  House  were  given 
by  Justin  McCarthy  and  T.  P.  O'Connor,  and  the  com- 
pany was  entertained  by  Mrs.  Jeune  and  T.  W.  Robertson. 
The  midnight  supper,  at  which  Mr.  McCarthy  was  host 
and  his  charming  daughter  hostess,  was  delightful, 
Henry  Irving  received  the  company  at  his  country  house 
as  well  as  at  supper  In  the  Lyceum.  The  Lord  Mayor 
and  Lady  Mayoress  gave  Mr.  Daly  and  his  party  a 
luncheon  at  the  Mansion  House,  which  was  attended  by 
a  very  distinguished  assemblage. 

The  Daly  company.  In  return  for  the  many  courtesies 
extended  to  it,  volunteered  in  aid  of  two  annual  pro- 
fessional benefits  —  that  of  the  Royal  Theatrical  Fund 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  461 

on  June  7   at  Drury   Lane,    and    that   of    The    Actors' 
Benevolent  Fund  on  June  28  at  the  Lyceum. 

Irving  sent  a  telegram  on  their  arrival,  "Love  and 
greeting  to  one  and  all,"  and  a  note  on  the  opening  night : 

"Dear  Daly 

I  wish  I  could  be  with  you  to-night.  You'll  have  all  the 
success  that  your  hearts  can  desire,  and  no  one  wishes  it  more 
earnestly  than 

Yours  truly 

Henry  Irving." 

"The  Taming  of  the  Shrew,"  produced  on  May  29, 
was  the  first  performance  of  a  Shakespearian  comedy 
by  an  American  company  in  Europe.  The  Times  stated 
that,  with  the  exception  of  Phelps'  revival  of  the  piece 
twenty-five  years  before,  "no  such  rendering  of  this  play 
has  been  seen  on  the  English  stage  .  .  .  and  until  it 
occurred  to  Mr.  Daly  last  year  to  attempt  a  resuscitation 
of  the  piece  in  the  shape  in  which  it  left  Shakespeare's 
hands,  it  seemed  as  if  this  comedy  were  fated  to  rank  as 
the  most  despised  and  rejected  of  the  poet's  productions"  ; 
that  it  "has  received  but  scant  justice  from  the  profes- 
sional interpreters  —  so  at  least  it  would  now  appear  — 
in  view  of  this  splendid  revival  of  the  comedy,  which, 
sumptuously  mounted  and  acted  with  admirable  spirit 
and  point,  keeps  the  house  throughout  its  five  acts  in  a 
state  of  continuous  merriment."  The  press  did  not 
consider  the  restoration  of  the  Induction  valuable,  but 
the  inclusion  of  the  underplot  of  Bianca  was  allowed 
to  be  important  as  throwing  into  relief  the  scenes  of 
Katherine  and  Petruchio,  —  "It  is  difficult  otherwise  to 
account  for  the  greatly  increased  interest  which  Mr.  Daly 
and  his  company  have  been  able  to  arouse  in  this  play. 
Those  who  have  known  it  in  the  current  acting  form  will 


462  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

be  agreeably  surprised  at  the  wealth  of  dramatic  material 
thus  brought  to  light"  {Times). 
Augustin  wrote  to  me  on  June  9  : 

"I  think  London  is  about  the  last  place  to  manage  a  theatre 
in.  If  you  have  a  good  play  with  a  job  cast  and  no  company 
to  drain  you,  you  can  run  for  a  year  and  make  perhaps  (once 
in  a  lifetime)  £10,000  or  £12,000  —  but  then  you  must  retire 
if  you  want  to  save  that." 

Again,  June  12  : 

"The  performance  is  positively  the  talk  of  all  London  — 
think  of  that;  and  yet  my  highest  receipts  so  far  reached  only 
£204  (Saturday  night).  Monday  £157,  Tuesday  £155.  .  .  . 
I  doubt  if  I  will  ever  be  foolish  enough  to  give  so  much  good 
time  to  London  again.  .  .  ." 

Yet  his  business,  compared  with  that  at  the  other  London 
theatres,  was  particularly  fine,  and  he  was  congratulated 
upon  it  by  everybody. 

Towards  the  last  of  June  I  joined  Augustin  in  London. 
I  arrived  in  time  to  be  present  at  the  Lord  Mayor's 
luncheon,  and  above  all  at  the  never-to-be-forgotten  event, 
"The  Taming  of  the  Shrew,"  at  the  Memorial  Theatre 
in  Stratford-on-Avon.  On  July  31  the  company  con- 
cluded a  season  of  thirteen  weeks,  and  the  long  run  of 
"The  Shrew"  had  changed  my  brother's  views  about 
revisiting  London.  In  his  farewell  speech  before  the 
curtain,  he  promised  to  come  back.  A  voice:  "Don't 
wait  too  long !" 

The  performance  at  Stratford  was  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Shakespeare  Memorial,  and  the  visit  interested  the 
whole  countryside.  It  was  made  most  agreeable  by  the 
attentions  of  Sir  Arthur  Hodgson,  the  Mayor  of  Stratford, 
Mr.    and   Mrs.    Edgar   Flower,  Mrs.   Leith   Adams,    Mr. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  463 

Robert  S.  de  C.  Laffan,  head  master  of  the  King  Edward 
VI  Grammar  School,  and  Mrs.  Laffan,  Lord  Ronald 
Gower,  and  Mr.  F.  Hawley  of  the  "Memorial."  The 
company,  after  a  trip  of  four  hours  by  special  express 
from  London,  arrived  at  dusk,  and  the  principals  were 
put  up  at  the  Red  Horse  Inn.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daly  and 
party  dined  at  Clopton  Hall  (about  a  mile  from  the 
town),  the  residence  of  Sir  Arthur  Hodgson,  and  the 
ancient  seat  of  the  Barons  whose  tombs  decorate  the 
Stratford  Church.  The  Lord  of  the  Induction  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the  Baron  Clopton  of  Shakespeare's  day, 
and  the  hall  in  which  the  revels  were  held  before 
Christopher  Sly  that  in  which  we  were  now  entertained 
by  the  Mayor  of  Stratford,  assisted  by  Lady  Hodgson 
and  her  daughters  Lady  Lifford  and  Miss  Hodgson,  on 
the  evening  of  August  2.  The  next  morning  the  com- 
pany were  invited  to  luncheon  at  Avonbank,  the  residence 
of  Mr.  Charles  Flower,  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edgar  Flower,  to 
meet  a  distinguished  company.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Laffan 
gave  a  tea  at  the  school,  and  the  performance  took  place 
that  evening  in  the  Memorial  Theatre,  which  was  crowded 
by  the  Warwickshire  County  families  who  drove  over, 
some  from  a  great  distance,  in  compliment  to  their  Ameri- 
can visitors. 

This  was  the  first  performance  of  "The  Taming  of  the 
Shrew"  given  in  Stratford,  so  far  as  is  known.  Mr.  Daly 
was  elected  one  of  the  Governors  of  the  Shakespeare 
Memorial.  He  had  already  presented  its  library  with 
books  and  pictures,  and  he  continued  to  do  so  while  he 
lived. 

From  Stratford  the  company  went  to  Glasgow  to  give 
two  performances,  and  then  separated  for  a  four-weeks' 
holiday,  to  meet  in  Paris.  On  the  second  visit  of  Mr. 
Daly  to  Paris,  the  journalists  ceased  to  lament  his  assault 


464  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

upon  the  citadel  of  art,  and  devoted  themselves  to 
Shakespeare.  Some  ignorance  of  his  work  was  manifested 
in  unexpected  quarters.  M.  Sarcey,  the  leading  critic, 
confessed  that  he  never  could  understand  Shakespearian 
comedy;  that  it  was  "illogical,"  and  that  "there  was 
nothing  in  it."  M.  Vitu  wrote:  "Every  nation  has  its 
own  way  of  laughing,  not  comprehended  beyond  its 
frontiers.  Schlegel  denied  that  Moliere  was  comic.  I 
will  not  go  so  far  as  to  say  the  same  of  Shakespeare.  He 
may  be  comic  —  he  is  certainly  coarse  —  that  is  his 
weakness." 

It  was  interesting  to  hear  from  other  quarters  that 
Shakespeare's  glory  is  more  French  than  English  ;  that 
France  has  lauded  him  beyond  any  other  nation ;  that 
the  English  may  act  him  well  enough,  but  that  it  is  not 
certain  they  understand  him  — •  for  instance,  they  do  not 
go  to  see  Othello  played  by  Irving,  but  to  see  Irving  play 
Othello.  Along  with  this  came  the  statement  from  Sardou 
that  he  would  give  no  opinion  of  the  acting  of  "The 
Taming  of  the  Shrew,"  the  piece  being  so  novel  to  his 
experience.  Catulle  Mendes  characterized  the  work  as 
a  masterpiece  of  realistic  conception,  but  "totally  unfit 
for  stage  representation." 

Le  Petit  Journal  exclaimed,  "Have  we  not  the  right  to 
be  surprised  that  a  company  of  this  originaUty,  playing  in 
the  language  of  the  author,  should  select  for  infliction 
upon  the  French  the  flattest,  most  insignificant  and 
absolutely  wearisome  and  ridiculous  piece  in  a  repertoire 
which  is  one  of  the  richest  in  the  world  ^  Would  the 
Comedie  Fran^aise  playing  in  London  in  French  give  Le 
Mariage  Force  as  a  specimen  of  Moliere.'"'  This  was 
an  unfortunate  instance,  for  that  piece  was  actually  given 
at  the  Theatre  Frangaise  that  season  for  the  instruction  of 
the  holiday  crowd  of  foreigners,  who  beheld  the  bridegroom 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  465 

Sganarelle  on  the  classic  stage  hurling  paving  stones  from 
the  street  at  one  philosopher  in  the  balcony,  belaboring 
another  pedant  with  his  fists,  and  finally  cudgelled  by  the 
brother  of  the  bride  until  he  consented  to  keep  his  prom- 
ise ;  yet  we  find  Sardou  writing  to  deny  the  report  that 
he  had  characterized  Miss  Rehan  and  Mr.  Drew  as  "too 
violent,"  and  explaining  that  he  was  only  "intimating 
that  they  might  modify  their  pugilistic  encounter"; 
that  he  must  be  understood  "as  merely  suggesting  that 
Shakespeare  does  not  shine  by  the  delicacy  of  his  works ; 
that  he  is  brutal  and  coarse,  as  his  public  was." 

Le  Gaulois,  whose  writers  like  those  of  many  other  French 
journals  could  only  judge  by  the  gestures  and  pantomime 
of  the  players,  discussed  with  horror  the  box  on  the  ear 
that  Katherine  gives  Petruchio,  and  wondered  that  Mr. 
Daly,  having  the  choice  of  so  many  heroic  characters 
evoked  by  the  genius  of  the  poet,  should  have  been  at- 
tracted by  Katherine  the  Shrew.  Gil  Bias,  however,  while 
of  opinion  that  the  play  must  be  ranked  among  the 
secondary  works  of  the  poet,  found  it  nevertheless  full 
of  charm  and  sincerity,  and  in  the  unfolding  of  the  action 
and  the  multitude  of  episodes  that  spring  from  it,  mani- 
festing continuously  the  theatrical  genius  of  the  author; 
but  thought  that  Miss  Rehan  "interpreted  the  character 
with  a  violence  altogether  Shakespearian." 

A  writer  in  Le  Petit  Journal  recognized  in  Miss  Rehan 
and  Mr.  Drew  artists  of  ability,  but  wished  to  see  them  in 
real  comedy  parts  and  not  in  farce.  He  remarked  that 
hitherto  when  called  to  the  theatre,  it  had  been  to  judge 
acting  and  not  to  analyze  buffoonery,  and  concluded  : 
"Pauvre  Shakespeare!  What  crimes  are  committed  in 
thy  name,  and  how  fortunate  that  thou  hast  been  dead 
some  time  !" 

The  handicap  of  playing  in  a   tongue  foreign   to  the 


466  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

auditors  is  undeniable.  The  inability  to  interest  by  the 
word  concentrates  attention  upon  the  action.  Whatever 
is  strange  in  manner  remains  so  to  the  end,  unrelieved 
by  appeal  to  the  intellect.  That  the  players  could  sur- 
mount this  difficulty  as  they  did,  was  a  very  decided 
victory.  "The  attitudes,  movements,  walk,  speech,  and 
action  of  these  Americans,"  said  Figaro,  "are  so  different 
from  what  we  are  accustomed  to  see  and  hear  that  there 
would  neither  be  justice  nor  profit  in  criticising  them. 
It  is  another  race,  another  conception,  another  art." 
The  writer  then  enumerates  the  long  line  of  actresses  who, 
he  believes,  had  attempted  the  role  of  Katherine  in  England 
as  well  as  in  America  down  to  the  time  of  Miss  Rehan, 
and  exclaims:  "Let  us  stop  here,  at  this  one.  Even 
from  our  point  of  view  the  superior  qualities  of  Miss 
Ada  Rehan  can  be  recognized.  Her  stature  and  singular 
beauty  present  the  image  of  a  Scandinavian  divinity  of  the 
Valhalla.  Nothing  can  be  more  singular  than  the  panther- 
like cries  that  provoke  the  first  attack  of  Petruchio,  and 
the  noble  and  penetrating  diction  of  Katherine^s  final 
submission."  Le  Soir  affirmed  Mdlle.  Rehan  to  be  "a 
comedienne  of  race  —  very  beautiful,  very  distinguished, 
rendering  the  part  of  Katherine  like  a  great  artist,  ac- 
claimed by  the  whole  house,  French  as  well  as  American. 
.  .  .  It  was  a  great  success  and  she  deserved  it."  Le 
Soleil  did  not  single  out  the  principals  of  the  cast  alone 
for  commendation:  "All  merit  praise  because  the  Daly 
company  is  distinguished  above  everything  by  its  en- 
semble."    Figaro  found  that  Drew  resembled  Irving ! 

There  was  much  space  given  to  biographies  of  Mr.  Daly 
(generally  inaccurate)  and  to  an  account  of  French  rep- 
resentations of  the  piece.  From  this  we  learn  that  Clozel 
and  Mademoiselle  Adeline  in  1804  produced  "La  Jeune 
Fcmme  en  Colere,"  by  Etienne,  at  the  Theatre  Louvois, 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  467 

that  it  was  last  played  in  the  Rue  Richelieu,  in  1855,  and 
that  the  scenes  of  Petruchio  and  Katherine  (Emile  and 
Rose)  were  transformed  by  Etienne  with  a  lightness  of 
touch  and  delicacy  of  hand  altogether  seductive ;  and 
the  writer  (in  Figaro)  inquires  why  the  Comedie  Fran^aise 
or  the  Odeon  has  not  revived  that  work  in  homage  to 
Shakespeare,  or  at  least  to  Etienne! 

The  newspaper  columns  were  thrown  open  of  course 
to  the  feuilletonists.  He  of  Le  Gaulois  described  his  visit 
to  the  play.  He  there  met  an  editor  of  the  New  York 
Herald.  "He  inquired  of  me  how  I  could  give  an  opinion 
upon  an  English  play  when  I  did  not  know  a  word  of 
English  ?  I  have  the  gift  of  tongues.  Each  time  that 
the  curtain  falls  I  perceive  that  an  act  is  over.  When  the 
scene  changes  I  comprehend  that  the  locahty  is  not  the 
same.  When  the  audience  applauds  I  say  to  myself 
'That's  good  !'  When  they  laugh  I  say  to  myself  'That 
was  something  funny!'  When  everybody  gets  up  to  go 
out  I  know  that  the  show  is  over ;  and  when  the  box  opener 
hands  me  my  overcoat  I  know  she  expects  a  fee,"  —  and 
so  on  for  half  a  column.  La  Soiree  Parisienne  boasted  a 
most  indefatigable  space  writer,  to  whom  English  of 
London  was  evidently  not  "unknowe": 

"The  boulevard  des  Capucins  last  night  was  no  longer  in 
Paris.  From  all  sides  serious  and  silent  crowds  —  the  men  in 
severe  black,  the  women  in  blue,  rose,  green,  yellow,  but  with 
clear  skins  and  plenty  of  hair  —  arrived  at  the  Vaudeville,  with 
exclamations  of  never-ending  surprise  in  a  language  as  barbarous 
as  it  was  strange.     There  were  mutual  recognitions  : 

Oh,  Sir  Crokmerott ! 

Oh,  Madame  Trowsers  I 

Can  it  be  ? 

Is  it  possible  1 

How  do  you  do } 


468  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

Very  well,  thank  you,  madame.     And  how  are  you  ? 

Quite  well,  sir,  thank  God. 

Then  a  shake  hand  without  end.  It  was  Broadway,  the 
grand  artery  of  New  York,  going  to  see  the  Company  of 
Augustin  Daly  in  The  Taming  of  the  Shrew,  la  Sauvage  Appri- 
voisee,  or  more  literally  I'apprivoisement  de  la  mauvaise  tete^  of 
the  great  William  Shakespeare." 

Le  Gaulois  had  an  opportune  article  on  the  theatres  of 
New  York.  In  it  we  are  informed  that  the  principal 
theatres  are  on  Broadway  —  "Wallack's,  burnt  in  1887, 
and  rebuilt  with  inconceivable  rapidity,"  Daly's,  Niblo's, 
Varieties,  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House,  and  the  Madison 
Square  Garden ;  that  grand  and  comic  opera  are  given 
at  the  Metropolitan,  classical  comedy,  Shakespeare  and 
vaudeville  at  Wallack's  and  Daly's,  melodrama  at  the 
Madison,  houffes  in  the  style  of  the  Palais  Royal  at 
Niblo's,  operetta  and  cafe  concerts  at  the  Casino,  and  at 
Barnum's  Circus,  races,  hippodromes,  and  dog-fights. 
With  regard  to  the  audiences  it  is  observed  that  the  ladies 
come  in  evening  dress,  remove  their  hats  and  give  the 
stalls  an  air  as  sumptuous  as  it  is  lively.  It  is  also  re- 
marked that  the  audience  applauds  little,  and  when  trans- 
ported, whistles. 

Besides  "The  Taming  of  the  Shrew,"  "Nancy  &  Co." 
and  "The  Railroad  of  Love"  were  given  at  the  Vaude- 
ville, and  the  general  Interest  in  those  performances  is 
evidenced  by  the  receipts  for  six  days,  which  exceeded 
those  of  each  of  the  three  principal  theatres  of  Paris. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

Daly's  connection  with  the  scheme  of  celebrating  the  centennial  of 
Washington's  inauguration.  Discourages  the  idea  of  reviving  the 
Revolutionary  drama.  Is  consulted  about  the  triumphal  arch  in 
Washington  Square.  Supper  to  Booth.  His  dislike  of  speech- 
making.  First  Founders'  Night  at  The  Players.  Florence  at  the 
New  Year  celebration  in  the  theatre.  Projects.  Jefferson's 
portrait  in  "appropriate"  bronze.  A  scholarship  in  Shakespeare's 
school.  Murdock's  benefit.  Dedication  of  Volume  IV  of  the 
Bankside  Shakespeare  to  Daly.  Actors  and  the  contract  labor 
act.  Benefit  to  Max  Maretzek.  Gariboldi's  embroidered  silk 
curtain  for  the  theatre.  Miss  Virginia  Dreher  marries  and  leaves 
the  stage.  Mrs.  Gilbert's  alarming  experience.  Death  of  John 
Gilbert.  Edwin  Booth's  apoplectic  attack.  New  assault  upon 
the  copyright  of  "Under  the  Gaslight."  Aspirants  for  a  place  in 
Daly's.  The  youngest  Worrell  sister.  A  fraudulent  Wallack's 
Theatre  company  stranded  in  Arkansas.  Plays.  Mark  Twain, 
and  why  he  enjoyed  the  particular  esteem  of  his  children. 

The  committee  on  the  celebration  of  the  centennial  of 
Washington's  inauguration  as  first  President  of  the 
United  States,  of  which  Hamilton  Fish  was  Chairman, 
asked  Mr.  Daly  to  name  some  persons  to  represent,  with 
himself,  the  theatres.  He  named  Henry  E.  Abbey  and 
A.  M.  Palmer,  managers  ;  William  Winter,  critic  ;  Bronson 
Howard,  dramatist;  Edward  Harrigan,  actor-dramatist; 
Joseph  N.  Ireland,  historian  ;  and  Joseph  Jefferson,  James 
E.  Murdoch,  W.  J.  Florence,  John  Gilbert,  and  James 
Lewis,  actors.  Booth  was  a  member  of  the  general 
committee.  A  play  was  suggested  on  a  theme  of  the 
revolutionary  period.     Mr.  Daly  wrote  on  the  subject : 

"My  dear  Palmer, 

I  quite  agree  with  you  that  no  good  end  —  either  patriotic 
or  otherwise  —  would    be   served   in   reviving,  or  reproducing 

469 


470  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

(because  there  could  be  no  'revival'  of  such  thoroughly  dead 
and  buried  plays  as  those  suggested  to  us  by  the  Centennial 
Committee)  works  that  our  Revolutionary  predecessors  offered 
for  the  entertainment  of  their  guests  lOO  years  ago.  The  com- 
munication came  to  me  in  such  a  roundabout  way  (Mrs. 
Somebody  wrote  to  somebody  who  suggested  that  another 
somebody  should  communicate  with  Mr.  Palmer  and  Mr.  Daly) 
that  I  think  the  simplest  as  well  as  the  wisest  course  will  be  to 
let  the  matter  drop  of  its  own  density  and  weight.  If  you 
think  a  letter  ought  to  go  in  reply  let  me  know  when  you  will 
come  and  talk  it  over  and  I'll  be  glad  to  see  you. 

Sincerely, 
A.  Daly." 

Another  project  happily  and  adequately  carried  out 
by  the  public-spirited  W.  Rhinelander  Stewart  occa- 
sioned  the   following  letter  from   a   well-known   citizen : 

"i  Fifth  Avenue,  Mar.  23d. 
My  dear  Mr.  Daly, 

Some  gentlemen  are  arranging  to  have  a  large  triumphal 
arch  erected  on  5th  Av.  at  its  lower  end,  and  are  much  exercised 
to  find  a  competent  person  to  control  the  decoration  in  con- 
formity with  the  plans  of  the  designer  of  the  arch.  The  object 
is  effect.  Knowing  your  experience  and  success  in  pleasing  the 
eye  as  well  as  the  ear,  I  have  thought  you  might  give  us  the 
names  of  persons  to  whom  the  Committee  could  apply.     Pardon 

the  liberty  I  take  and  believe  me 

Yours  very  truly 

W.  Butler  Duncan." 

A  supper  to  Booth  at  Delmonico's  on  March  30, 
1889,  was  tendered  by  Daly  and  Palmer  in  recognition  of 
his  generous  gift  of  No.  16  Gramercy  Park  to  The  Players. 
The  orchestra  of  Daly's  Theatre  supplied  the  music. 
The  guests,  eighty  in  number,  were  representative  of  the 
stage,  literature,  journalism,  art,  the  bench,  the  bar,  and 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  471 

the  army.  George  H.  Boker,  the  playwright  of  a  former 
generation,  was  there  with  Boucicault,  whose  activities 
were  spread  over  two  generations  at  least.  John  Gilbert 
represented  the  English  school  of  acting,  and  Coquelin 
the  French.  Charles  P.  Daly  represented  the  bar  and  the 
judiciary,  and  historical,  geographical,  and  even  theatrical 
traditions ;  he  was  a  constant  patron  of  the  theatre. 
Speeches  were  made  by  Stephen  Olin,  Mark  Twain, 
Depew,  Barrett,  Coquelin,  Winter,  Boucicault,  and  Gil- 
bert. Booth  responded  to  the  toast  in  very  few  words, 
for  it  was  extremely  irksome  for  him  to  make  a  speech. 
He  had  written  from  Philadelphia  : 

"If  the  feast  which  you  generously  intend  to  give  in  my  honor 
must  eventuate  cannot  speeches  be  dispensed  with  ?  .  .  .  If 
it  be  absolutely  necessary  for  me  to  donkeyize  myself  pray  let 
me  know  what  you  will  orate  on  the  occasion,  that  I  may  have 
a  cue  to  guide  me  in  my  response.  But  if  possible  don't  let's 
do  it.  .  .  ." 

The  opening  of  The  Players  on  New  Year's  Eve,  1889, 
was  auspicious.  Booth,  the  president,  read  an  address 
presenting  the  deed  of  the  club-house  to  Mr.  Daly,  the 
vice-president,  who  responded  for  the  corporation.  The 
loving-cup  was  then  passed  around  the  assembly.  This 
ceremony  is  repeated  at  The  Players  annually.  New 
Year's  Eve  is  called  "Founders'  Night";  Booth's 
address  is  read,  and  a  talk  reminiscent  of  Booth  is 
given  by  a  member  selected  for  the  honor  by  the  Board 
of  Directors. 

The  Players'  opening  did  not  interfere  with  the  custom- 
ary New  Year's  supper  at  Daly's  in  the  Wofhngton 
room.  Winter  was  there  and  W.  J.  Florence,  who  at 
an  early  hour  on  New  Year's  Day  managed  to  indite  the 
following  : 


472  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"7  Fifth  Avenue,  Tuesday,  1st  January,  3  a.m. 

This  I  fear  will  be  a  very  shaky  note,  for  with  my  heart  full 

of  great  good  thoughts  for  you  and  my  head  full  of  champagne 

I  don't  believe  you'll  make  it  out;   but,  dear  good  'Governor,' 

I  could  not  have  had  the  New  Year  ushered  in  under  happier 

auspices.     Judge   Daly   and   Mr.   Winter  were   delightful   and 

you  looked  so  distinguished.     I  was  so  proud  of  you.     I  am 

going  to  bed  completely  happy  and  I  thank  you  ever  and  ever 

so  much.  . ,  .  , 

Always  smcereiy 

Florence." 

In  the  course  of  this  year  he  and  Daly  talked  over  a 
possible  arrangement  by  which  Florence  should  be  stage 
director  of  Daly's,  occasionally  playing  eccentric  parts  of 
suitable  importance.  Florence  could  in  fact  play  any- 
thing. 

Daly's  correspondence  at  this  time  shows  that  JeflFerson 
sent  him  his  portrait  in  bronze,  with  a  remark  that  it 
was  "an  appropriate  metal  for  the  display  of  my  features, 
I  fancy";  that  Mrs.  Bertha  LaflFan  of  Stratford  acknowl- 
edged the  receipt  of  a  contribution  to  the  foundation  of  a 
scholarship  in  Shakespeare's  ancient  school,  of  which  her 
husband  was  head-master ;  that  the  subject  of  a  "World's 
Fair"  to  be  held  in  New  York,  the  site  to  be  north  of 
Central  Park  and  requiring  hundreds  of  acres,  awakened 
considerable  discussion  and,  among  real  estate  dealers, 
much  excitement,  but  that  Augustin,  when  consulted,  was 
very  unenthusiastic;  that  he  was  elected  to  membership 
in  the  Grolier  Club  and  to  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the 
Catholic  Protectory ;  that  one  of  the  oldest  stars  in  the 
theatrical  profession,  James  E.  Murdoch,  was  tendered  a 
benefit  in  Philadelphia  and  appeared  in  one  of  his  fa- 
vorite parts,  The  Stranger^  giving  the  present  generation 
the  opportunity  of  judging  the  methods  of  a  forgotten 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  473 

period  ;  that  the  admirers  of  Coquelin,  headed  by  Brander 
Matthews,  presented  him  with  a  souvenir  of  his  American 
visit;  and  that  Mr,  Appleton  Morgan  issued  the  fourth 
volume  of  his  Bankside  Shakespeare  with  a  dedication 
to  Augustin  Daly. 

Many  will  recall  an  absurd  bill  introduced  in  Congress 
to  extend  the  contract  labor  act  so  as  to  exclude  from  the 
United  States  foreign  actors  below  the  grade  of  stars, 
arriving  under  engagement.  Some  actors  went  to  Wash- 
ington to  advocate  its  passage,  and  even  engaged  Robert 
G.  Ingersoll  to  present  their  case.  The  managers  of  the 
great  theatres  ridiculed  the  fear  of  competition  which 
inspired  the  measure.  Congressman  S.  S.  Cox  ("Sunset" 
Cox)  fought  it  strenuously,  and  commenting  upon  its 
provisions,  wrote  to  Mr.  Daly  : 

"Stars  differ  in  glory,  and  who  is  to  judge  of  the  stellar 
qualities  which  would  allow  the  'stars'  to  come  in  and  the 
satellitic  and  meteoric  folk  to  be  kept  out?" 

The  benefit  tendered  at  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House 
on  February  12,  1889,  to  Max  Maretzek  in  celebration 
of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  his  operatic  management 
was  a  distinguished  affair.  It  was  managed  by  E.  C. 
Stanton,  director  of  the  Opera  House,  and  by  Mr.  Daly. 
A  graceful  compliment  was  the  appearance  successively 
in  the  orchestra  of  five  well-known  conductors  —  Thomas, 
Seidl,  Damrosch,  Van  der  Stucker,  and  Neuendorff,  with 
Max  himself. 

Daly's  Theatre  was  now  enriched  by  a  curtain  embroi- 
dered in  silk,  representing  the  "Crowning  of  Comedy,"  by 
Gariboldi.  The  needlework  was  done  in  Milan  under  his 
direction.  Gariboldi  wrote  :  "Never  a  piece  of  work  like 
this  has  been  attempted  before,"  and  added,  "What  an 
undertaking,  what  a  work,  what  a  cost!" 


474  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

This  season  the  beautiful  Virginia  Dreher  left  the 
stage  to  be  married.  Miss  Phoebe  Russell  went  to  Europe 
to  study,  and  Misses  Shannon  and  Campbell  accepted 
other  and  very  good  engagements.  Mrs.  Gilbert  had 
a  startling  experience  one  night  while  playing.  Her 
memory  completely  failed,  and  she  had  to  be  prompted 
through  the  whole  performance.  It  took  a  long  time  to 
allay  her  apprehension  that  a  breakdown  of  her  faculties 
from  age  was  imminent.  Her  recovery,  however,  was 
rapid  and  complete.  She  remembered  her  part  the  next 
night,  and  played  with  undiminished  spirit  for  many 
years  after. 

The  death  of  Mr.  John  A.  Duff  occurred  this  year, 
and  that  of  John  Gilbert  in  Boston  in  June,  1889. 

There  was  alarm  felt  for  Edwin  Booth  when  it  was 
reported  that  on  April  3,  1889,  he  had  a  stroke  of  paralysis 
while  playing  in  Rochester.  His  season  was  immediately 
closed,  and  he  returned  home  to  The  Players,  the  upper 
floor  of  the  club-house  having  been  originally  fitted  up 
for  his  residence.  He  recovered  from  this  attack  suffi- 
ciently to  preside  at  the  directors'  meeting  of  April  6, 
1889,  and  in  the  autumn  to  fill  an  engagement  jointly 
with  Madame  Modjeska  in  "Richelieu"  at  the  Broadway 
Theatre. 

Daly  as  dramatic  author  experienced  some  difficulties 
at  this  time.  We  recall  that  in  1868  he  successfully 
invoked  the  aid  of  the  U.  S.  Circuit  Court  in  New  York 
to  restrain  the  piracy  of  his  railroad  scene  in  "Under  the 
Gaslight,"  by  Boucicault.  After  twenty-one  years  of 
security  an  ingenious  lawyer  discovered  a  variance  be- 
tween the  title  of  the  play  as  originally  deposited  for  copy- 
right and  that  of  the  published  book.  The  original  title- 
page  reads  "Under  the  Gaslight,  a  drama  of  life 
and  love  in   these   times,"   and   the   published   book   was 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  .  DALY  475 

called  "Under  the  Gaslight,  a  romantic  panorama  of 
the  streets  and  homes  of  New  York."  The  client  of  the 
ingenious  lawyer  immediately  began  to  play  the  piece 
and  refused  to  recognize  the  author's  rights.  Suit  by  Mr. 
Daly  followed,  and  the  judge  now  presiding  thought  it 
his  duty  to  declare,  though  reluctantly,  that  the  copy- 
right was  rendered  invalid  by  the  change  of  title.  Pirates 
of  plays  were  thereby  much  encouraged,  but  only  during 
the  few  months  required  for  Mr.  Daly  to  take  an  appeal 
to  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  and  obtain  a  reversal  of 
the  decision.  An  appeal  from  the  reversal  was  taken 
by  the  defendant  to  the  Supreme  Court,  but  was  dis- 
missed by  that  tribunal.  The  holding  of  the  Court  was 
that  the  title  of  the  play  was  "Under  the  Gaslight,"  and 
that  what  followed  was  descriptive  merely,  and  a  change 
in  it  was  not  a  change  of  title. 

Miss  Minnie  Maddern,  then  beginning  her  career, 
acquired  Mr.  Daly's  "Alixe"  for  the  exercise  of  her 
talent. 

Among  applicants  for  engagement  was  a  youthful  son 
of  Mrs.  Rose  Eytinge  Butler,  James  H.  Hollingshead,  a 
grandson  of  James  E.  Murdock.  The  irrepressible  and 
adventurous  youngest  of  the  Worrell  Sisters,  writing  in 
her  dreadful  scrawl  and  signing  herself  "Jennie  Hatfield," 
and  "one  of  the  old-timers,"  announced  that  she  was  at 
the  Murray  Hill  Hotel  on  a  brief  visit  to  America  "to 
see  her  daughters  and  family  after  a  most  enjoyable 
eighteen  months'  shooting  trip  in  Africa,"  wanted  to  see 
the  play  at  Daly's,  and  was  shortly  to  return  "to  England, 
the  land  of  the  free  (morals)." 

I  find  also  an  amusing  account  of  some  theatrical 
impostors ;  Thomas  Bruton  wrote  this  year  from  San 
Francisco  of  his  encounter  with  "Wallack's  Theatre 
Company"  in  a  little  town  of  western  Arkansas: 


476  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"I  found  them  strapped  and  held  for  their  board.  The 
dirtiest  man  in  the  crowd  looked  at  the  register  and  imme- 
diately button-holed  me.  'Say,  young  feller',  he  said,  'Did  you 
ever  heerd  tell  of  Lester  Wallack.^'  'Oh  yes,'  I  replied,  'I  heard 
of  him,  but  I  never  saw  him.'  'Well  den  —  you  see  him  afore 
you.  I'm  Lester  Wallack.'  As  I  wished  to  be  introduced  to 
the  other  members  of  the  company,  I  invited  him  up  to  the  bar. 
He  gathered  all  the  talent  to  participate  —  Dion  Boucicault, 
John  Gilbert  and,  —  you  might  not  believe  it  —  George  Hol- 
land, whom  I  thought  dead  ten  years.  They  told  me  their 
trouble,  and  as  I  was  a  pretty  good  advertiser,  I  told  them  to 
give  a  good  variety  performance  that  night.  I  wrote  up  the  bill 
with  a  bottle  of  wash-blueing  and,  with  the  assistance  of  Lester 
Wallack  and  Boucicault,  posted  the  town.  We  had  a  good 
house,  they  paid  their  bill  and  got  off." 

Daly's  search  for  new  plays  was  kept  up.  M.  A. 
Chizzola  of  Paris  was  active  in  securing  "La  Marchande 
de  Sourires"  (The  Woman  Who  Sells  her  Smiles).  We 
shall  hear  of  it  later.  George  Parsons  Lathrop  wrote 
that  Abbey  had  ordered  a  Greek  drama,  "Hero  and 
Leander,"  for  Mrs.  Potter,  and  Mr.  Henry  Ames  Blood 
of  Washington  offered  Daly  "The  Return  of  Ulysses." 
Mrs.  Craigie  completed  "A  Bundle  of  Life";  Alexander 
Salvini  with  Horace  Townsend  composed  a  play  which 
Salvini  thought  it  "worth  the  manager's  while  to  hear"; 
Mrs.  Kate  Douglas  Wiggin  sent,  not  a  play,  but  a  song  in 
the  old  English  manner,  to  lines  beginning, 

"My  time,  O  ye  Muses,  was  happily  spent 
When  Chloe  went  with  me  wherever  I  went," 

and  Mr.  Daly  accepted  it  for  possible  future  use.  Miss 
Wormsley  inquired  about  the  availability  of  the  plays 
of  the  elder  Dumas  for  the  American  stage.  "The 
Wild  Idea,"  by  Miss  Elizabeth  Marbury,  was  found  to 
have  merit,  but  was  not  adapted  to  the  Daly  company. 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  477 

Mark  Twain's  well-known  intimacy  with  Daly  naturally 
interested  his  young  literary  friends.  Concerning  one  of 
them  he  wrote  : 

"She  wants  to  know  whether  she  has  written  a  play  or  not 
and  Mrs.  Clemens  and  I  volunteered  to  go  down  to  New  York 
with  her  &  try  to  get  you  to  tell  her.     Will  you  f " 

Upon  the  occasion  of  a  notable  revival  on  one  of  the 
subscription  nights,  Mr.  Daly  got  a  short  note  from 
Twain:  "I  have  always  avoided  the  Moody  &  Sankey 
revivals,  but  this  kind  is  just  in  my  line;"  and  after  a 
pleasant  meeting  with  the  favorites  of  the  stage  and  their 
manager  came  a  characteristic  letter : 

"A  fine  and  beautiful  thing  is  a  child's  worship.  ...  I  have 
written  wonderful  books  which  have  revolutionized  politics  & 
religion  in  the  world ;  &  you  might  think  that  that  is  why  my 
children  hold  my  person  to  be  sacred;  but  it  isn't  so;  it  is 
because  I  know  Miss  Rehan  and  Mr.  Drew  personally. 

Sincerely  yours 

S.  L.  Clemens." 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

Remarkable  contemporary  review  of  Daly's  career.  The  season  of 
1888-1889  opens  with  "The  Lottery  of  Love,"  which  becomes  one 
of  the  greatest  successes  of  the  house.  The  French  original,  "Les 
Surprises  du  Divorce,"  played  at  the  same  time  by  Coquelin's 
company.  Daly's  supper  to  Coquelin.  Their  plan  for  Coquelin 
to  play  with  Daly's  company  in  the  future.  Brander  Matthews' 
idea  of  "one-act  pieces"  is  carried  out.  Revival  of  "The  Incon- 
stant" after  fifteen  years.  Comedy  from  the  German,  "An  Inter- 
national Match,"  and  another  from  the  French,  "Samson  and 
Delilah."  Furness  and  Davis  come  on  to  see  it.  Subscription 
nights,  an  innovation,  received  with  favor.  Spring  and  summer 
tour.  Fifty-first  birthday.  Vacation  spent  in  England  and 
France.     A  breakfast  by  Buffalo   Bill. 

"To  Augustin  Daly. 

When  we  consider  your  history  it  is  impossible  to  refrain  from 
astonishment  at  the  variety  of  your  experiences  and  the  versa- 
tility of  your  mind.  We  have  neither  known  nor  heard  tradi- 
tions of  a  manager  whose  career  has  been  so  checkered  as  your 
own.  Triumph  and  disaster  have  attended  your  ventures  so 
often  and  in  so  remarkable  a  degree  that  we  have  knowledge  of 
no  other  man  who  could  have  attained  similar  successes  and 
preserved  his  equanimity,  or  suffered  kindred  reverses  while 
maintaining  your  composure.  Since  your  early  boyhood  you 
have  been  the  pet  of  fortune  or  her  scorn.  On  many  occasions 
and  in  many  ways  you  achieved  prosperity  which,  after  a  little 
holding,  was  plucked  from  your  grasp.  Other  men  are  con- 
tent to  build  their  reputation  upon  a  single  performance.  But 
you  have  bent  a  strong  will  and  a  fine  intellect  to  the  ac- 
complishment of  many  tasks  and  succeeded  in  all.     Yet  the 

478 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  479 

fame  that  has  come  to  you  through  these  achievements  has 
been  shadowed  by  so  many  disappointments  that  there  are  few 
men  who  could  have  maintained  their  courage  even  with  a  surety 
of  the  ultimate  reward  which  has  crowned  your  perseverance.  If 
you  have  scaled  the  heights  of  fortune,  you  have  also  sounded 
the  depths  of  misfortune.  You  have  suffered  detraction,  you 
have  had  your  successes  ascribed  to  one  who  had  no  merit  in 
them,  you  have  been  overwhelmed  by  undertakings  too  great 
for  your  resources,  you  have  been  devastated  by  fire,  you  have 
been  deserted  by  those  whose  talent  was  entirely  of  your  own 
creation,  you  have  devoted  years  of  unwearying  thought  and 
energy  to  the  development  of  genius  that  was  no  sooner  grown 
to  maturity  than  it  became  ungrateful  to  its  parent.  The  in- 
domitable ambition  of  your  mind  and  the  power  of  your  will 
have  at  length  placed  you  in  a  position  which  is  without  a 
rival.  We  have  reason  to  believe  that  your  future  shall  be  free 
from  the  hindrance  of  the  past  and  that  now,  having  eclipsed 
all  other  managers,  you  will  proceed  to  surpass  yourself."  ^ 

The  above  extract  from  an  open  letter  published  in  a 
leading  dramatic  journal  is  contemporary  testimony  to 
the  public  estimation  of  Augustin  Daly  at  this  stage  of 
his  career. 

The  new  season  opened  at  Daly's  with  "The  Lottery  of 
Love,"  a  play  from  the  French  of  Messieurs  Bisson  and 
Mons  ("  Les  Surprises  du  Divorce  ") .  Mrs.  Gilbert  as  Mrs. 
Sherramy,  the  mother-in-law ;  Mr.  Lewis  as  the  father-in- 
law,  Buttercorn ;  Mr.  Drew  as  the  harassed  husband,  Double- 
dot,  had  the  whole  work  of  the  performance.  The  women's 
parts  were  the  weakest  in  the  play,  but  Miss  Rehan  ac- 
cepted that  of  Josephine,  the  second  wife,  and  Diana, 
the  doubly  wed,  was  given  to  a  newcomer.  Miss  Sara 
Chalmers,  while  the  role  of  the  soubrette  Eliza  served  to 
introduce  to  Daly's  audiences  the  vivacious  Miss  Kitty 
Cheatham. 

^  Dramatic  News,  New  York,  August,  1888. 


48o  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

The  new  play  caught  the  favor  of  the  town  immediately. 
Boucicault  was  at  the  premiere^  and  wrote  next  day  : 

"My  dear  Daly 

Good  for  six  months.  The  dialogue  is  the  best  I  have  listened 
to  for  many  years.     Will  look  you  up  for  a  chat  next  Sunday. 

Yours  sincerely 

Dion  Boucicault. 
Never  saw  Drew  and  Mrs.  G.  so  much  to  advantage.     My 
compliments  to  Bond  —  And  to  yourself  looo  what  d'ye  call 
'ems." 

Brander  Matthews  also  wrote  : 

"The  man  with  two  mother-in-laws  was  able  last  night  to 
make  a  man  with  a  double  toothache  forget  the  pain  from  which 
he  had  been  suffering  for  ten  days.  It  was  a  delight  to  hear  the 
heartiness  of  the  welcome  given  to  all  the  old  favorites. 

I  was  very  glad  to  see  by  the  programme  that  you  intend  to 
do  one-act  comedies.  I  have  always  thought  that  the  writing  of 
one-act  plays  was  the  best  possible  practical  training-school 
for  the  coming  American  dramatist  —  just  as  the  writing  of 
short  stories  gives  the  novelist  a  chance  to  learn  his  trade." 

An  unusual  opportunity  for  comparing  French  and 
American  acting  in  the  same  play,  and  also  of  estimating 
the  value  of  a  Daly  adaptation  of  foreign  work,  was 
afforded  by  the  performance  of  M.  Coquelin  and  his 
company  in  "Les  Surprises  du  Divorce"  at  Palmer's 
(late  Wallack's)  Theatre  across  the  street,  while  "The 
Lottery  of  Love"  was  playing  at  Daly's.  This  was  the 
first  visit  of  Coquelin  and  Mdlle.  Jane  Hading  to  America. 
As  Mdlle.  Hading  was  not  in  the  cast,  the  critical  journals 
found  no  one  to  compare  with  Miss  Rehan  ;  but  Coquelin 
and  Drew,  Duquesne  and  Lewis,  Mme.  Patry  and  Mrs. 
Gilbert  were,  of  course,  contrasted.  Coquelin  was  assumed 
to  be  necessarily  superior  to  his  younger  rival,  but  the 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  481 

palm  was  awarded  immediately  to  Lewis  and  Mrs.  Gilbert 
over  the  foreign  artists.  As  to  the  general  level  of  each 
performance,  one  journal  remarked  that  "the  Daly  com- 
pany played  in  a  farcical  style  and  the  French  with  the 
true  comedy  spirit";  this  was  perhaps  illustrated  by  the 
fact  that  while  Drew,  at  the  apparition  of  his  detested 
mother-in-law,  "made  a  face,"  Coquelin  not  only  gri- 
maced, but  bounded  in  the  air! 

Mr.  Daly  gave  a  supper  to  Coquelin  at  Delmonico's. 
The  menu  bore  the  line  from  "The  Merchant  of  Venice," 
"I  feast  tonight  my  best  esteemed."  Coquelin  returned 
the  compliment  with  a  breakfast  before  leaving  America, 
and  wrote  to  Daly  (April  12,  1888)  : 

"I  shall  be  so  sorry  to  be  back  in  Paris,  I  felt  so  happy  over 
here.  I  had  such  good  friends.  I'll  have  to  begin  the  struggle 
anew.  Well,  it's  no  use  moping.  Recall  me  to  the  kind 
memory  of  charming  Miss  Rehan.  She  played  to  perfection 
her  3d  act  at  the  Madison  Square.^  I'd  like  to  play  a  nice  scene 
with  her.     She  Is  as  talented  as  she  is  charming. 

Do  not  forget,  my  dear  Daly,  that  you  have  in  Paris,  6  Rue 
de  Presbourg,  a  true  and  grateful  friend.  I  shall  be  glad  to 
return  to  you  from  afar  a  little  of  the  kindness  you  showed  me 
when  I  was  in  New  York.  You  may  dispose  of  me,  rely  upon 
me,  make  use  of  me,  and  I  shall  be  happy  to  acquit  myself  a 
little.  Once  more  I  thank  you  with  all  my  heart  and  beg  you 
to  accept  the  expression  of  my  faithful  friendship. 

Coquelin." 

These  two  friends  conferred  often  upon  no  less  a  proj- 
ect than  Coquelin's  appearing  at  Daly's  with  Miss 
Rehan  and  the  Daly  company.  One  piece  talked  of  was 
"Le  Jeu  de  I'Amour,"  and  when  Coquelin  sent  over  some 
additions  to  the  Ms.,  he  wrote  : 

'  A  charity  performance. 


482  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"You  can  imagine  what  a  pleasure,  a  fete  it  will  be  for  me  to 
play  it  with  your  artists  and  with  the  most  perfect  of  them  all." 

During  the  long  run  of  "The  Lottery  of  Love,"  the 
one-act  plays  of  which  Brander  Matthews  wrote  were 
given  as  "curtain-raisers."  "The  Wife  of  Socrates"  was 
an  adaptation  by  Justin  Huntly  McCarthy  from  the 
French  of  Theodore  de  Banville  ;  "Popping  the  Question" 
was  an  old  farce  done  over  ;  and  "A  Tragedy  Rehearsed" 
was  a  version  in  one  act  of  Sheridan's  "Critic."  In  the 
first-named  comedietta  Miss  Rehan  played  Xantippe  and 
Charles  Wheatleigh  Socrates.  Wheatleigh  was  an  addi- 
tion to  the  company  rendered  necessary  by  the  veteran 
Fisher's  beginning  to  fail.  In  the  last  season  he  had 
written  to  his  manager  on  the  occasion  of  forgetting  his 
lines,  "I  can  memorize  no  more,"  and  wished  to  retire 
then;  but  my  brother  comforted  and  encouraged  him, 
and  the  old  gentleman,  much  revived,  subsequently  went 
to  England  with  the  company  and  played  all  that  season. 
His  successor  Wheatleigh  was  a  thorough  artist  of  the 
old  days  and  had  been  a  favorite  at  Laura  Keene's  Theatre 
In  1857,  but  of  late  had  been  seldom  seen.  Augustin 
drew  him  from  his  retirement,  and  he  fitted  in  admirably 
with  the  new  generation  on  Daly's  stage. 

The  old  comedy  production  of  the  season  was  "The 
Inconstant,"  brought  out  with  unusual  elegance  on 
January  15,  1889,  and  played  twenty-nine  times.  It 
had  not  been  seen  since  Daly  produced  it  at  the  first 
Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  in  1872.  Miss  Clara  Morris, 
then  in  her  prime,  had  given  to  the  part  of  Oriana  her 
supple  grace  and  incisive  diction.  Miss  Rehan  now 
brought  to  it  abundant  life  and  magnetism,  and  con- 
firmed the  critical  impression  that  she  was  always  at  her 
greatest  in  classical  comedy.     The  prompt-book  of  this 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  483 

elegant  production  was  privately  printed  and  sent  to 
admirers  of  old  comedy.  Jefferson  received  a  copy,  and 
wrote  to  Augustin  of  Farquhar's  play  : 

"It  has  humanity  without  realism,  whilst  the  plays  of  our 
own  time  are  full  of  realism  without  humanity." 

The  second  new  play  was  "An  International  Match," 
adapted  from  the  German  ("Cornelius  Voss")  of  von 
Schonthan,  and  produced  February  5,  1889,  with  all  the 
company  in  the  cast.  A  revival  of  "The  Taming  of  the 
Shrew"  followed  the  "International  Match,"  and  then 
appeared  the  third  and  last  new  piece,  "Samson  and 
Delilah,"  from  the  French  of  M.  Bisson,  on  March  28, 
1889. 

Furness  came  on  from  Philadelphia  with  Clarke  Davis 
to  see  the  play,  and  wrote  to  the  manager  that  going 
home  on  the  train  they  talked  it  over  and  "came  to  the 
conclusion  as  we  discussed  it  and  reviewed  it  and  re- 
hearsed it,  that  it  was  absolutely  perfect." 

In  this  season  of  1888-1889  Mr.  Daly  inaugurated  an 
innovation  in  theatrical  practice  in  America  —  a  series 
of  subscription  nights,  on  which  revivals  of  former  success- 
ful plays  were  to  be  produced.  Only  a  theatre  with  a 
company  that  had  been  accustomed  to  act  together  for 
years  could  have  announced  such  a  programme.  The 
subscription  book  was  filled  six  weeks  before  the  first 
performance. 

The  season  closed  on  April  27,  1889,  and  the  theatre 
was  given  over  to  Rosina  Yokes,  The  Daly  company 
then  made  its  customary  round  of  visits. 

Augustin's  fifty-first  birthday,  July  20,  1889,  was 
celebrated  by  the  company  in  San  Francisco  at  the 
Palace  Hotel  with  a  little  family  demonstration  in  his 
honor. 


484  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Early  In  August  the  travellers  separated  for  a  two 
months'  holiday.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daly  sailed  for  Europe 
on  the  loth  with  Miss  Rehan.  It  was  Miss  Rehan's 
first  visit  abroad  "with  nothing  to  do."  They  visited 
every  notable  performance  In  London  and  Paris,  and 
Augustin  made  arrangements  for  a  season  at  the  Ly- 
ceum Theatre  in  June  and  July,  1890.  The  visit  to 
Paris  was  made  at  the  height  of  the  "Exposition." 
Augustin  wrote  : 

"The  French  have  done  wonders  with  the  Champs  de  Mars, 
transforming  that  sandy  spot  into  a  paradise  .  .  .  wonderful 
lakelets  .  .  .  the  trees  they  have  planted  seem  to  have  been 
growing  there  for  centuries.  The  American  part  of  the  exhibi- 
tion was  no  credit  to  us.  Mr.  Depew  said  we  went  there  flaunt- 
ing the  largest  kind  of  American  flag  and  at  the  end  could  have 
put  it  In  our  vest  pocket.  The  theatres  have  not  done  the 
business  they  expected.  Buff'alo  Bill's  show  was  the  most 
successful  American  exhibit.  He  Is  doing  an  enormous  busi- 
ness. Edison  is  made  a  perfect  hero.  Everywhere  he  goes  he 
is  followed  by  crowds  of  people.  As  for  the  proposed  exhibition 
in  America  (1892-93),  we  must  take  some  difi'erent  line.  It's 
no  use  trying  to  surpass  the  Paris  exhibition  on  its  own  lines. 
In  Its  own  way  it  Is  almost  perfect.  I  have  not  thought  much  of 
a  site  for  ours.  As  for  the  damage  it  might  cause  to  Central 
Park,  It  is  said  that  the  crowds  in  Paris  destroy  10,000  francs' 
worth  of  foliage  every  Sunday." 

Colonel  Cody  (Buifalo  Bill)  gave  a  breakfast  on  August 
27  at  his  "Wild  West  Camp,"  Neullly,  "In  honor  of 
our  American  friends,"  including  Edison,  Chauncey 
Depew,  John  Hoey,  M.  O'Brien,  Augustin  Daly,  and 
Miss  Rehan.  The  menu  was  strictly  trans-Atlantic : 
"Clam  Chowder,  Soles,  Quail  on  Toast,  Sweetbreads, 
Pork  and  Boston  Baked  Beans,  Grub-steak  with  Mush- 
rooms, Chicken  (Maryland  style).  Green  Corn,  Hominy, 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  485 

Baked  Potatoes,  Blanc  Mange,  Jelly,  Pumpkin  Pie,  Apple 
Pie,  Watermelon,  Peas,  Peaches,  Grapes,  Nuts,  Popcorn, 
Peanuts,  Coffee,  Corn  Bread,  and  Biscuits."  The 
French  guests  must  have  thought  they  were  at  an  Homeric 
banquet. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

Season  of  1 889-1 890.  "The  Golden  Widow."  "The  Great  Un- 
known." The  fourth  Shakespearian  production  of  this  theatre, 
"As  You  Like  It."  "A  Priceless  Paragon,"  from  Sardou's  "Belle 
Maman,"  a  failure.  "The  Prayer."  "Miss  Hoyden."  "Haroun 
al  Raschid."  An  arduous  season.  Subscription  nights  and 
benefits.  James  Lewis'  sanguinary  designs  on  a  plumber.  Wil- 
liam Terriss  and  Miss  Jessie  Milward  in  "Roger  la  Honte."  New 
plays  —  one  ordered  from  Sardou.  Fourth  visit  of  the  Daly  com- 
pany to  London.  At  the  Lyceum.  Everything  they  do  now  praised. 
Self-reproach  of  critic  who  once  flouted  "Seven-Twenty-Eight." 
Press  tributes  remarkable.  The  red  feather  in  the  cap  of  Mephis- 
topheles.  Criticism  upon  absence  of  high-born  manners  in  Amer- 
ican players.  Blackwood's  views.  Supper  in  the  Beefsteak  Room. 
Charities.  The  Christopher  Marlowe  memorial.  Appreciation  of 
"The  Great  Unknown."     Return  engagement  promised. 

The  season  of  1 889-1 890  opened  with  "The  Golden 
Widow"  from  Sardou's  "La  Marquise";  it  was  ex- 
quisitely acted,  but  the  American  public  took  no  delight 
in  the  story.  "The  Great  Unknown"  from  the  German 
of  von  Schonthan  and  Kadelburg  ("Die  Beriihmte 
Frau"),  on  October  22,  1889,  caught  the  public  fancy 
at  once.  A  newcomer  to  the  company  was  Miss  Adelaide 
Prince,   the  successor  of  Miss  Virginia  Dreher. 

"As  You  Like  It"  was  the  fourth  Shakespearian  pro- 
duction of  Daly's  Theatre,  and  had  been  in  preparation 
for  many  months.  Miss  Rehan's  Rosalind  was  a  present- 
ment of  boundless,  resistless,  exuberant  youth,  and  there 
was  Immediate  recognition  of  the  charm  which  Mr.  Daly's 
stage  direction  gave  to  the  pastoral  scenes.  Lewis  was 
the  dryest,  quaintest,  cleanest-cut  Touchstone  that  ever 
wore  cap  and  bells. 

486 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  487 

Very  greatly  appreciated  by  Mr.  Daly  was  a  letter  from 
Mr.  J.  J.  Hayes,  instructor  of  elocution  at  Harvard  : 

"Doubtless  you  are  surfeited  with  praise,  but  I  cannot  go 
from  the  City  without  saying  how  thoroughly  charmed  I  was 
last  night  with  your  admirable  production  of  'As  You  Like  It.' 
In  the  first  place  I  was  more  glad  than  I  can  say  at  the  exquisite 
simplicity  and  naturalness  of  the  readings.  In  that  respect 
alone  your  company  furnishes  a  source  of  education  to  the 
masses,  and  it  was  as  rare  as  it  was  delightful  to  hear  the  lines 
of  the  play  given  with  the  true  human  touch  .  .  .  To  my 
mind  Miss  Rehan  has  done  nothing  that  can  compare  with  her 
Rosalind.     It  was  a  performance  to  be  remembered." 

"As  You  Like  It"  had  sixty-two  representations.  A 
privately  printed  book  of  the  present  version  was  dis- 
tributed among  the  lovers  of  Daly's  Theatre,  and,  enlarged 
and  embellished  with  photographs  of  the  players  in 
costume,  was  sent  to  the  Memorial  Theatre  in  Stratford. 
The  book  contains  an  admirable  historical  and  critical 
introduction  by  William  Winter. 

"A  Priceless  Paragon,"  which  came  next,  was  Sardou's 
"Belle  Maman,"  adapted  by  Harry  Paulton,  the  actor, 
for  Mr.  Daly.  A  version  for  England,  where  it  was  to 
be  played  by  Mrs.  Bancroft,  was  prepared  from  the 
French  original  by  F.  C.  Burnand.  By  way  of  contrast 
there  was  played  each  night  before  the  comedy  one  of  the 
most  sombre  things  conceivable  —  Francois  Coppee's 
"Le  Pater,"  a  brief  dramatic  story  of  the  Commune 
translated  by  Maurice  Francis  Egan  and  named  "The 
Prayer."  At  the  time  of  its  production  at  Daly's, 
February  25,  1890,  the  little  play  had  not  been  produced 
in  Paris,  the  government  censor  withholding  his  license 
for  fear  of  reviving  some  of  the  bitter  feeling  of  the  past. 
To  some  observers  the  serious  nature  of  this  play  seemed 
unfitted  for  association  with  Sardou's  comedy,  but  the 


488  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

light  and  the  serious  spirit  of  France  were  never  better 
contrasted. 

More  novelties  succeeded.  Sheridan's  comedy,  "A 
Trip  to  Scarborough,"  which  was  based  upon  Vanbrugh's 
*' Relapse,"  now  condensed  by  Mr.  Daly  into  a  comedietta 
which  he  called  "Miss  Hoyden's  Husband,"  was  brought 
out  on  March  26,  1890,  in  conjunction  with  Sydney 
Grundy's  farce  in  three  acts,  "Haroun  al  Raschid  and 
his  Mother-in-law,"  a  version  of  "An  Arabian  Night." 

The  subscription  nights  were  continued  this  season, 
and  Miss  Edith  Crane  made  her  debut  in  a  revival  of 
"Seven-Twenty-Eight."  It  was  an  arduous  season,  the 
company  not  only  appearing  in  six  new  productions,  but 
in  the  eight  subscription  revivals  and  in  complimentary 
benefits  for  the  Post-Graduate  Medical  Hospital,  The 
Actors'  Fund,  the  Orphan  Asylum,  the  Bethlehem  Day 
Nursery,  and  the  Association  for  Befriending  Children 
and  Young  Girls.  Notwithstanding  the  incessant  work, 
the  company  was  in  high  spirits.  There  is  a  sanguinary 
epistle  from  James  Lewis  requesting  a  day  off  to  go  to  his 
country  place  at  Larchmont  "to  kill  a  plumber.  I  should 
have  gone  yesterday,  but  the  storm  saved  his  life  for 
another  day." 

The  season  closed  after  two  hundred  and  twenty  per- 
formances, of  which  eighty-five  were  Shakespearian.  The 
company  went  immediately  to  Washington  —  the  first 
visit  in  years  —  and  thence  upon  a  tour  which  embraced 
Philadelphia,  Boston,  and  Chicago,  They  sailed  with  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Daly  for  England  on  the  Aurania  on  May  31, 
where  they  were  booked  to  open  at  the  Lyceum  Theatre, 
and  destined  to  achieve  their  greatest  success  up  to  that 
time.  In  their  absence  Daly's  Theatre  was  occupied  by 
Miss  Yokes  and  her  company  and  afterwards  by  Sol  Smith 
Russell. 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  489 

During  the  season  just  ended  Mr.  Daly  brought 
Wilham  Terriss  and  Miss  Jessie  Milward  from  England 
to  open  at  Niblo's  Garden  in  a  French  melodrama, 
"Roger  la  Honte,"  in  which  Terriss  doubled  the  parts  of 
the  hero  and  the  villain.  The  venture  promised  such 
profit  that  an  experienced  New  York  manager,  Mr.  Miner, 
took  over  the  contract.  A  version  of  "Roger  la  Honte" 
for  England  had  been  made  by  Robert  Buchanan. 

Among  the  new  plays  read  by  Mr.  Daly  this  year  were 
a  drama  by  Milton  Royle,  another  by  Harold  Frederic 
and  Brandon  Thomas,  comedies  by  Paul  Blouet,  Bronson 
Howard,  Joseph  Hutton,  Mrs.  Gertrude  Atherton,  Mrs. 
Annie  Nathan  Meyer,  George  Hibbard,  and  H.  Wayne 
Ellis,  and  a  version  of  Shakespeare's  "Pericles"  by  Pos- 
sart.  Sardou  received  a  payment  of  20,000  francs  in 
advance  for  a  new  play,  not  yet  composed.  This  master- 
workman  was  to  have  for  the  American  rights  only,  in 
addition  to  the  prepayment,  20,000  francs  more  when  the 
scenario  was  submitted,  50,000  on  delivery  of  the  complete 
manuscript,  50,000  on  the  first  performance,  25,000  on 
the  fiftieth,  and  25,000  on  the  hundredth.  It  seems  also 
that  Sardou  was  at  this  time  arranging  the  work  of  a 
contemporary  dramatist,  Emile  Moreau,  for  Madame 
Bernhardt,  on  the  understanding  that  his  name  was  not 
to  appear. 

Among  the  manager's  correspondence  we  find  a  letter 
from  an  almost  forgotten  star  (she  had  been  a  juvenile 
prodigy),  Mrs.  Clara  Fisher  Maeder,  not  too  old  to  think 
of  returning  to  the  stage ;  and  one,  which  recalled  the  old 
journalistic  days,  from  Edward  H.  House,  dramatist  and 
critic  in  the  sixties,  now  returned  from  Japan  a  cripple, 
constantly  attended  by  his  adopted  Japanese  daughter. 
We  find  Laurence  Hutton  at  work  on  the  "Curiosities 
of  the  American  Stage,"  for  the  benefit,  he  wrote  Mr.  Daly, 


490  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

"of  you  extra-illustrators";  Boucicault  was  forming  a 
school  in  dramatic  instruction  in  the  Madison  Square 
Theatre;  General  Sherman  on  his  seventieth  birthday, 
January  15,  1890,  invited  Mr.  Daly  and  a  few  intimates 
to  a  dinner  in  honor  of  his  brother,  Senator  John  Sherman, 
at  75  West  Seventy-first  Street ;  Mrs.  Kendal  acknowl- 
edged Mr.  Daly's  permission  for  her  to  play  Kate  Verity 
in  "The  Squire";  Miss  Ellen  Terry,  writing  from  Paris, 
introduced  the  son  of  the  celebrated  Tyrone  Power ;  and 
an  old  friend,  Judge  Richard  O'Gorman,  upon  receiving 
from  Augustin  a  copy  of  the  handsome  book  "As  You 
Like  It,"  wrote  : 

"Happy  is  the  man  who  has  so  many  opportunities  of  making 
people  happy  and  who  uses  his  opportunities  to  such  advan- 
tage." 

On  June  10,  1890,  the  Daly  company  faced  a  Lyceum 
audience.  There  was  design  in  opening  with  "Seven- 
Twenty-Eight,"  which  had  first  introduced  the  Americans 
to  an  English  public  ;  the  versatility  of  the  performers  was 
to  be  exhibited.  Recalling  what  the  Times  had  said  of 
them  six  years  before,  it  is  instructive  to  turn  to  its  columns 
now  and  read  : 

"No  comedy  quite  so  delicate  as  that  of  Miss  Rehan  and  Mr. 
Drew  in  this  piece  has  been  seen  since  the  Robertsonian  plays 
were  performed  under  the  management  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ban- 
croft. Some  of  the  subordinate  members  of  the  Company  are 
newcomers,  but  the  principals  have  been  acting  for  many 
years  together,  and  this  circumstance  insures  a  degree  of  smooth- 
ness and  a  perfection  of  ensemble  in  the  performances  which  is 
unsurpassed  and  perhaps  hardly  equalled  even  in  the  Paris 
theatres." 

Of  "Nancy  &  Co.,"  played  on  June  24,  the  same 
critic  wrote  : 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  491 

"The  plot  seems  to  become  as  delicate  as  gossamer  which  a 
jarring  word  or  gesture  would  mutilate.  Neither  word  nor 
gesture,  however,  is  ever  out  of  place." 

The  Times  voiced  the  general  impression  : 

"The  acting  was  absolutely  faultless;  indeed  it  was  better 
than  faultless :  It  was  animated  throughout  by  that  vivacity 
of  genius  which  we  believe  to  be  essentially  French."  ^ 

Mr.  Labouchere  noticed  the  change  of  tone  : 

"When  he  first  came  to  England  the  Company  was  pro- 
nounced by  our  theatrical  guides,  philosophers  and  friends  a 
complete  failure.  At  present,  although  the  Company  is  the 
same  and  the  plays  are  the  same,  everything  is  declared  to  be 
perfection  ;  indeed  the  success  is  greater  every  successive  season 
that  the  Company  comes  over  here."  ^ 

And  the  feeling  throughout  the  critical  fraternity  was 
quite  frankly  expressed  by  the  writer  in  the  London 
World,  who  said  that  he  had  turned  back  to  his  article 
published  on  July  23,  1884,  on  the  night  of  the  first  ap- 
pearance of  the  Daly  company  in  England,  and  that 
when  he  reached  the  lines  dealing  with  Miss  Rehan  in 
this  part  {Nisbe),  he  could  have  rent  his  garments  and 
strewn  ashes  on  his  head  for  having  been  blind  to  its 
beauties,  which  it  was  a  sin  not  to  see  and  appreciate. 

Not  less  enthusiastic  were  the  notices  of  "The  Taming 
of  the  Shrew"  (produced  on  July  8)  : 

"A  veritable  edition  de  luxe  of  a  five-act  comedy  which,  for 
over  a  hundred  years,  has  been  known  to  the  stage  only  in  the 
truncated  form  adopted  by  Garrick."  ^ 

But  the  greatest  success  of  the  Daly  company  was  at 
hand.     On  July  16  the  production  of  "As  You  Like  It" 

^  St.  James  Gazette.  ^  Truth.  '  The  Times. 


492  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

took  place  and  was  witnessed  by  a  splendid  audience. 
Henry  Irving  in  his  box  was  conspicuous.  There  was 
good  reason  to  believe  that  he  had  had  in  contemplation 
a  presentation  of  this  play,  and  as  it  was  certain  that  the 
Rosalind  of  such  a  production  would  be  Miss  Ellen  Terry, 
he  was  naturally  a  close  observer  of  Miss  Rehan's  per- 
formance, the  reputation  of  which  had  already  crossed  the 
Atlantic.  His  congratulations  to  Mr.  Daly  were  conveyed 
in  a  letter.  "As  You  Like  It"  and  Miss  Rehan's  acting 
elicited  greater  praise  than  they  had  evoked  even  in 
America.  Compliments  privately  bestowed  were  many. 
Mrs.  Marie  Bancroft  wrote  to  Miss  Rehan  :  "Your  Rosa- 
lind is  one  of  the  most  perfect  representations  I  ever 
witnessed  —  full  of  thought  and  genius  —  a  truly  beautiful 
performance";  Joseph  Knight  addressed  her  as  "divine 
artist,"  and  Mrs.  Mary  Ann  Keeley  as  "bewitching 
Rosalind."  Madame  Felicia  Mallet,  the  accomplished 
French  comedienne,  wrote  to  Mr.  Daly:  "Thanks  to 
your  amiability,  I  passed,  yesterday,  an  exquisite  evening. 
I  beg  you  to  make  my  perfect  admiration  known  to  Miss 
Ada   Rehan."     Sir  Squire  Bancroft  wrote: 

"Very  cordially  I  offer  a  few  words  of  sincere  admiration  to 
the  governing  mind  and  hand  so  constantly  obvious  to  the 
expert  in  last  night's  performance.  If  you  knew  how  weary  I 
had  grown  of  the  old  play  and  how  all  my  love  for  it  was  revived 
and  strengthened,  you  would  better  understand  my  appreciation 
of  your  work." 

Sir  Theodore  Martin  (author  of  the  "Life  of  the  Prince 
Consort"  and  husband  of  Helen  Faucit,  one  of  the  admired 
Rosalinds  of  the  English  theatre),  wrote  an  appreciation 
of  the  play  as  a  whole  : 

"Never  have  I  seen  it  presented  with  more  skill  in  the  details 
of  the  scene  or  carried  out  with  a  greater  spirit  of  life  by  the 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 


493 


various  characters.  The  way  the  very  charming  music  was 
presented  helped  very  greatly  to  augment  the  illusion  of  the 
scene  and  to  infuse  into  it  the  true  spirit  of  this  lovely  Forest 
Pastoral." 

The  letter  of  Henry  Irving,  referred  to  above,  termed 
"As  You  Like  It" 

"A  delightful  performance,  and  Miss  Rehan  beyond  praise. 
She  kept  the  entire  play  together  in  a  splendid  way.  I  was  sorry 
that  Ellen  Terry  could  not  come  —  she  was  ill  in  bed.  Drew's 
difficult  part  he  gets  through  admirably,  and  Lewis  &  Wheat- 
leigh  &  Clarke  are  good  —  Wheatleigh's  a  thorough  old  stager ;" 

and  Coquelin  wrote  :  "  I  am  ravished  with  your  success 
and  that  of  Miss  Rehan." 

A  charming  and  characteristic  letter  was  written  later 
to  Miss  Rehan  by  Miss  Terry  : 

_.      -         Aj     r.  u  "Winchelsea,  Friday,  15  Aug. 

My  dear  Ada  Rehan, 

I  suppose  you'll  be  flying  off  directly  you  have  finished  at  the 

Lyceum,  &  if  so  I  shan't  see  you  and  I  haven't  seen  yr  Rosalind  ! 

—  only  one  act  of  it  at  least,  which  was  lovely  enough,  all  except 

a  'red  feather'  which  I  want  you  to  wear  as  the  only  possible 


494  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

improvement  which  I  might  suggest!  !  'Nobody  ax'd  you  sir, 
she  said'  you  may  say  but  you  won't  &  will  wear  the  feather 
for  my  sake. 

It's  one  of  the  straight  long  bright  scarlet  feathers  that  H.  I. 
wore  in  'Mephistopheles'  &  it  wd,  I  think,  give  vim  to  yr.  cap. 
I  had  not  forgotten,  only  the  thing  was  locked  up. 

Goodbye,  my  dear  —  you  should  be  delighted  with  your 
great  success  —  our  B.  P.  (British  Public,  please) — just  love 
you  —  &  so  they  did  ought  to,  as  they  say  in  the  Dials. 

I'm  having  a  perfect  rest  in  our  nth  century  city  by  the  sea 
&  I  do  nothing  but  nothing  all  day  long  &  am  not  quite  sure 
whether  this  is  a  Thursday  or  a  Friday.  Keep  very  well  & 
get  some  rest  now.  Yrs  affect'ly 

Ellen  Terry." 

The  letter  of  Sir  Theodore  Martin,  from  which  an  ex- 
tract has  been  given,  contained,  in  its  long  and  studied 
appreciation  of  Miss  Rehan's  performance,  some  reflections 
upon  the  unrestrained  gayety  of  her  acting  in  the  forest 
scenes  which  he  thought  denoted  forgetfulness  of  her 
princely  rank:  "She  would  I  think  modify  many  of  the 
details  of  her  performance  in  the  forest  scenes  if  she 
kept  steadily  in  mind  that  it  is  Rosalind  the  Princess  as 
well  as  Rosalind  the  loving  woman  who,  under  the  Page's 
disguise,  is  doing  her  best  to  rivet  the  affections  of 
Orlando."  The  idea  was  subsequently  enlarged  upon 
in  an  article  in  Blackwood's  (September,  1890).  The 
topic  of  a  Shakespearian  performance  by  an  American 
company  is  incidentally  referred  to  in  a  notice  of  the 
recent  publication  of  the  eighth  volume  of  Horace  Howard 
Furness'  variorum  Shakespeare.  It  is  announced  that 
this  eighth  volume  of  Mr.  Furness'  work  is  devoted  to 
"As  You  Like  It,"  and  that  Mr.  Daly  had  applied  great 
skill  and  pains  to  the  production  of  that  play,  and  had 
submitted  his  labors  to  an  English  audience  which  had 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  495 

been  predisposed  in  his  favor  by  his  version  of  "The 
Taming  of  the  Shrew."  After  praising  costumes  and 
scenic  arrangement,  skilful  stage  management,  and  the 
admirable  way  the  songs  were  presented,  it  finds  that 
the  characters  were  taken  in  too  low  a  key ;  that  the 
speeches  of  the  banished  Duke  and  Jaques,  for  example, 
were  spoken  with  excellent  emphasis  and  discretion,  but 
the  tone  of  the  high-bred  nobleman  was  not  struck ; 
that  one  missed  the  indefinable  something  which  dis- 
tinguishes men  accustomed  to  a  higher  than  ordinary 
level  of  thinking,  as  well  as  that  courtesy  in  manner  which 
is  requisite  to  give  to  the  poet's  language  its  full  effect ; 
but  that  much  praise  was  due  to  the  Jaques  for  his  treat- 
ment of  "All  the  World's  a  Stage." 

The  writer  goes  on  to  say  that  the  Touchstone  of  Mr. 
Daly's  company  did  not  answer  to  the  poet's  conception, 
and  that  Adam  was  worse ;  that  to  Orlando  an  air  of 
youthful  romance  is  absolutely  essential,  and  that  Mr. 
Drew  was  not  conspicuous  for  it ;  yet  that  "with  scarcely  an 
exception,  the  critics  pronounce  the  production  to  be 
'indeed  perfection,'  and  one  luminous  authority  tells 
us  that  nothing  so  truly  Shakespearian  had  been  seen 
on  the  stage  for  a  hundred  years."  It  is  Blackwood'' s 
misfortune  (it  declares)  not  to  be  able  to  agree  with  these 
opinions ;  Miss  Rehan  seemed  not  to  have  adapted  her- 
self to  Rosalind,  but  to  have  sought  to  adapt  that  part  to 
herself  and  to  her  own  peculiar  methods  of  winning  an 
audience ;  that  surely,  if  Rosalind  is  anything,  she  is  an 
ideal  princess  in  whom  the  charm  of  person  is  heightened 
by  refinement,  grace,  tenderness,  and  an  undercurrent  of 
intellectual  strength,  and  who  never  in  the  wildest  play 
of  her  sportive  moods  is  other  than  the  high-bred  self- 
respecting  lady;  that  "the  saucy  kittenish  ways  of  Miss 
Rehan  may  be  very  amusing  to  those  who  either  do  not 


496  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

know  their  Shakespeare  or  are  indifferent  as  to  what  he 
intended  ;  but  they  are  out  of  place  in  any  poetical  drama, 
and  they  are  especially  so  in  Rosalind.^' 

The  writer  in  Blackivood* s  had  not  perhaps  sufficiently 
pondered  the  role  of  that  high-born  lady  who  wanders 
in  the  woods  in  boy's  dress,  greets  her  lover  "like  a  saucy 
lackey,"  "plays  the  knave  with  him,"  pretending  to  be 
"apish  and  fantastical";  prepares  "now  to  weep  for  him, 
then  spit  at  him,"  offers  to  "wash  his  liver  as  clean  as 
a  sound  sheep's  heart,"  and  finally,  to  his  "And  wilt 
thou  have  me?"  replies  "Ay,  and  twenty  such!" 

The  fact  is  that  the  writer  was  simply  recalling  the 
conventional  Rosalinds  of  the  early  Victorian  era,  and 
could  not  accept  a  different  interpretation  of  the  part. 
From  this  mental  condition  the  other  critics  had  emerged. 
The  Daily  Chronicle,  for  instance,  said  :  "Miss  Rehan's 
Rosalind  has  an  ease  and  spontaneity  so  engaging  in  its 
influence  as  for  the  moment  to  create  some  doubts  as  to 
whether  Miss  Rehan  is  not  right,  and  theatrical  precedent, 
together  with  ideas  matured  in  the  study,  altogether 
wrong." 

On  July  i6  my  brother  wrote  me  :  "  As  You  Like  It 
is  the  most  enormous  success  I've  yet  had  in  London." 
While  the  popularity  of  the  play  was  at  its  height,  he 
gave  a  supper  in  Irving's  famous  "Beefsteak  Room"  to 
a  number  of  friends,  including  Irving,  Miss  Rehan,  the 
Laboucheres,  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir  Francis)  Jeune  (later 
Lord  St.  Helier),  Mrs.  Jeune,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beerbohm 
Tree,  Sir  Henry  Thompson,  Mr.  Depew,  Mr.  Winter, 
Mr.  Brayton  Ives,  Mr.  Stewart  Scott,  Mr.  Edgar  Fawcett, 
Mrs.  Louise  Chandler  Moulton,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ledger,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hatton,  Gustave  Kadelburg,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Watson,  Mrs.  Gilbert  and  Mr.  Lewis,  Mrs.  Augustin  Daly, 
Mrs.  Joseph  F.  Daly,  and  myself.     The  birthday  of  the 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  497 

manager  (July  20)  was  celebrated  with  a  luncheon  at 
which  the  Kendals,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frank  Lockwood,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Routledge,  Mr.  Smalley,  Miss  Rehan,  and  Mrs. 
Gilbert  were  guests.  A  birthday  letter  from  Miss 
Rehan  offered  my  brother  warm  congratulations,  and 
added : 

"I  also  wish  to  acknowledge  your  generous  assistance  for 
the  high  position  I  hold  today  in  my  profession.  May  God 
bless  you." 

The  Daly  company  gave  an  entertainment  for  the 
benefit  of  Mrs.  Jeune's  "holiday  fund  for  poor  children" 
at  the  Lyceum  on  July  23  ;  and  the  theatre  was  lent 
for  the  Actors'  Benevolent  Fund  benefit  on  the  17th,  in 
which  the  company  took  part,  as  they  did  in  a  perform- 
ance at  the  Shaftesbury  Theatre  for  the  "Christopher 
Marlowe  Memorial  Fund."  The  treasurer  of  the  fund, 
Mr.  Sidney  Lee,  acknowledged  the  courtesy  in  the  follow- 
ing letter : 

"18  K-Edward's  Square,  Kensington  6/7/90. 
Dear  Sir 

I  am  directed  by  the  Committee  of  the  Marlowe  Memorial 
of  which  Lord  Coleridge  is  Chairman  to  express  to  you  their 
deep  sense  of  gratitude  for  the  generous  service  which  your 
Company  rendered  to  the  benefit  performance  given  in  aid  of 
the  Memorial  Fund  last  Friday  afternoon.  That  you  should 
have  so  readily  joined  in  our  endeavor  to  do  honor  to  the  founder 
of  the  English  drama  seems  to  the  Committee  a  very  graceful 
act  of  fraternity." 

The  American  company  also  participated  in  the  benefit 
for  the  English  Theatrical  Fund  (June  12). 

The  interesting  season  at  the  Lyceum  was  brought  to 
a  close  with  "The  Great  Unknown,"  which  was  brought 


498  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

out  on  August  6.  The  other  modern  comedy  given  beside 
"Seven-Twenty-Eight"  was  "Nancy  &  Co,"  Strangely 
enough  the  romping  audacity  of  Edna,  the  fearless  heroine 
of  "The  Great  Unknown,"  was  preferred  to  the  demure- 
ness  of  Nisbe  and  the  vivacity  of  Nancy  Brasher.  The 
Morning  Post  said  it  was  "an  extraordinary  change  from 
Rosalind,  but  the  versatility  of  Miss  Rehan  is  so  remark- 
able that  she  appears  equally  at  home  in  classic  comedy 
or  the  wildest  eccentricity," 

The  season  terminated  on  August  i6  with  "Seven- 
Twenty-Eight,"  and  a  great  demonstration  of  friendship, 
an  extraordinary  manifestation  of  sympathy  between 
the  artists  and  the  auditors.  Everybody  was  called  out 
repeatedly.  Mr,  Daly  had  to  come  forward  and  thank 
the  public  on  behalf  of  his  company.  The  announce- 
ment that  he  had  secured  the  Lyceum  for  another  visit 
was  greatly  applauded.  On  August  19  Mr,  and  Mrs. 
Daly,  with  Miss  Rehan,  went  to  Paris  for  a  short  visit 
and  three  weeks  afterwards  sailed  for  home. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

Opening  of  the  season  of  1890-1891.  Booth,  Jefferson,  and  Florence 
in  a  box.  "  New  Lamps  for  Old"  by  Jerome.  A  great  hit  —  "The 
Last  Word."  "The  School  for  Scandal"  and  "L'Enfant  Prodigue" 
—  a  long  run  and  a  very  brief  one.  Superb  revival  of  Shakespeare's 
"Love's  Labour's  Lost."  The  Players.  Booth  persuades  Daly 
to  withdraw  his  resignation.  The  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  de- 
stroyed. Hard  times  in  the  theatrical  world  after  the  Barings' 
failure.  Daniel  Frohman  tries  old  comedy.  Debut  of  Mrs. 
James  Brown  Potter. 

It  was  a  great  opening  night  at  Daly's  on  October 
7,  1890.  There  was  promise  of  a  vast  crowd,  and 
Booth  wrote  in  acknowledgment  of  the  box  kept  for 
him:  "Joe  and  I  will  attend  to-morrow  night  &  I  hope 
Florence  &  Bispham  can  do  so.  Barrett  is  in  Chicago. 
Hope  you  will  be  here  next  Monday."  "Joe"  was  Jef- 
ferson. He  and  Florence  were  soon  to  open  in  "The 
Rivals"  at  Palmer's,  late  Wallack's.  William  Bispham 
was  Booth's  intimate  friend  and  business  adviser,  an 
amateur  of  the  arts  and  one  of  the  founders  of  The  Players. 
Jefferson  wrote  to  say  that  he  was  going  to  "try  and  get 
off  for  the  occasion,"  —  "  Should  like  to  see  your  opening, 
as  I  know  it  will  be  an  event." 

The  play  was  Jerome  K.  Jerome's  "New  Lamps  for 
Old,"  —  full  of  fun  and  satire.  It  was  a  slender  piece, 
not  quite  up  to  the  powers  of  the  company,  but  here 
and  there  beyond  the  ordinary  level  of  farce.  In  the  first 
week  Augustin  wrote  me:  "Old  Lamps  will  soon  burn 
out,"  and  said  that  he  must  prepare  its  successor.  Three 
weeks  after  the  opening,  a  new  adaptation  from  the  Ger- 

499 


500  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

man  of  Franz  von  Schonthan,  called  "The  Last  Word," 
was  put  on.  When  it  was  first  read  to  the  company  in 
the  Green  Room,  my  brother  wrote  in  his  oiBce-book, 
"Received  in  silence."  The  play  ran  for  a  hundred 
nights.  The  press  gave  the  performance  the  tribute  it 
deserved,  and  we  shall  see  later  on  how  it  was  appreciated 
abroad. 

A  fitting  successor  to  this  superb  example  of  modern 
comedy  was  "The  School  for  Scandal,"  now  presented 
in  the  form  adopted  by  Mr.  Daly  some  fifteen  years 
before  and  further  reconstructed  so  as  to  present  each 
act  in  a  single  scene,  a  work  requiring  much  time  and 
ingenuity.  On  January  20,  1891,  the  curtain  rose  upon 
what  was  destined  to  be  a  companion  piece  to  Daly's 
brilliant  Shakespearian  revivals.  Lady  Teazle  —  the  fe- 
male role  which  stands  out  most  prominently  in  English 
comedy  —  is  a  superstructure  of  light  follies  built  upon 
solid  ground.  Daring  to  the  very  brink  of  danger,  but 
absolutely  confident  in  herself,  she  could  play  with  the 
schemes  of  the  profligate  as  airily  as  she  did  with  the 
fears  of  her  husband,  and  emerge  from  every  ordeal  leaving 
a  conviction  of  her  honesty  even  in  the  heart  of  the  de- 
praved. A  natural,  solid  virtue  showed  through  the 
glaze  of  fashion.  That  was  Mrs.  Jordan's  conception  of 
the  part,  and  it  was  Miss  Rehan's.  It  was  said  of  her  in 
the  fourth  act:  "Her  acting  at  the  climax,  after  the  fall 
of  the  screen,  had  the  true  dignity  of  aroused  and  chas- 
tened moral  sentiment  subdued  by  the  tenderness  of  a 
good  heart  that  is  suddenly  awakened  to  a  knowledge  of 
duty."  "Roguish  merriment  was  allowed  to  dominate 
the  actress's  manner  in  the  quarrel  scenes ;  under  the 
influence  of  Joseph's  specious  arguments  her  face  showed 
clearly  that  she  was  not  likely  to  be  led  astray  by  such  a 
shallow  rogue,  if  at  all ;    and    her  delivery  of   the  expla- 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  501 

nation  to  Sir  Peter  and  the  denunciation  of  Joseph  after 
the  fall  of  the  screen  was  beautifully  simple  and  true 
and  splendidly  effective."  There  was  a  diflference  of 
opinion  as  to  whether  she  was  sufficiently  the  fine  lady. 
The  part  may  be  played  in  a  mincing  fashion,  and  it  may 
be  played  as  a  finished  coquette;  but  it  is  certain  that 
if  it  does  not  disclose  the  heartiness  and  robustness  of 
"a  young  girl  bred  wholly  in  the  country,"  it  is  not  in  the 
spirit  of  Sheridan. 

John  Drew's  Charles  Surface  was  deservedly  praised. 
It  was  judiciously  observed  that,  if  he  appeared  a  trifle 
too  cool  in  the  company  of  hotheaded  drinkers,  he  made  it 
appear  from  the  first  that  he  was  a  very  decent  fellow  in 
spite  of  his  companions  and  his  follies,  and  merited  the 
encomiums  of  Old  Rowley ;  that  his  manner  was  elegant, 
and  that  in  the  screen  scene  he  displayed  a  tact  of  which 
most  modern  Charles  Surfaces  have  been  entirely  incapable. 

A  new  recruit,  Harry  Edwards,  an  actor  of  great  ex- 
perience and  a  favorite  of  the  old  Wallack  company, 
made  his  first  appearance  on  Daly's  stage  as  Sir  Oliver 
Surface,  and  added  to  the  interest  of  the  first  night. 
Lewis  consented  again  to  assume  the  part  of  Moses,  and 
Sidney  Herbert  as  Sir  Benjamin  Backbite  made  an  im- 
pression so  distinct  as  to  elevate  the  part  to  the  level  of 
superior  comedy,  a  feat  which  is  not  recorded  of  any 
other  actor  who  ever  attempted  the  role. 

The  old  comedy  caught  the  town  and  was  played  fifty 
times  this  season.  As  usual,  it  brought  out  old  playgoers 
who  seldom  find  amusement  in  modern  pieces,  and  it 
awakened  memories  of  interest.  The  veteran  actor, 
manager,  and  teacher  of  acting,  Gabriel  Harrison,  wrote 
to  Mr.  Daly  that  he  had  seen  Fanny  Kemble  in  the  old 
Park  Theatre  as  Lady  Teazle,  Charles  Kemble  as  Charles, 
Henry  Placide  as  Sir  Peter,  Thomas  Barry  as  Joseph,  and 


502  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

Mrs.  Wheatley  as  Mrs.  Candour ;  and  that  Miss  Rehan's 
scene  with  Joseph  in  the  fourth  act,  "her  quick  perception 
of  Joseph's  object  wonderfully  expressed  in  her  face,  and 
her  whole  demeanor  from  that  moment  to  the  end  of  the 
play,  I  have  never  seen  excelled." 

During  the  visit  to  Paris  in  the  preceding  summer, 
Mr.  Daly  had  taken  Miss  Rehan  to  see  the  sensation  of 
Paris  —  the  acting  of  Felicia  Mallet  as  Pierrot  in  a  new 
pantomime,  "L'Enfant  Prodigue,"  and  he  was  so  im- 
pressed with  the  charm  of  the  performance  that  he  ac- 
quired the  American  rights  in  the  play,  and  disclosed 
to  Miss  Rehan  his  intention  of  presenting  her  in  Mme. 
Mallet's  role.  Pantomime  was  no  novelty  to  the 
Parisians,  but  to  Americans  it  was  then  associated  with 
chalk-faced  clowns  like  Fox,  and  ballerinas  like  pretty 
Fa*nny  Beaver,  his  Columbine.  But  this  was  not  a 
comic  pantomime ;  it  was  a  tragic  story.  Even  to  the 
French  a  female  Pierrot  was  perhaps  a  novelty,  but  the 
petite  Mme.  Mallet  carried  the  town  in  spite  of  the 
white  face  and  skull-cap.  Success  without  her  would 
have  been  doubtful,  and  we  are  not  surprised  that  the 
published  book  was  gratefully  inscribed  by  Andre  Wormser 
and  Michel  Carre  fils  to  the  admirable  creator  of  their 
Pierrot. 

It  is  surprising  that  there  should  have  been  material 
in  the  Daly  company  for  such  an  unusual  entertainment, 
but  Leclercq  was  an  old  pantomimist,  and  Mrs.  Gilbert 
had  only  to  recall  memories  of  her  early  days  in  ballets 
d'action.  The  manager  chose  correctly  when  he  cast 
Sidney  Herbert  and  Adelaide  Prince  for  the  Baron  and 
the  coquettish  Phrynette ;  and  they  carried  off  the  honors 
of  the  evening.  The  audience  watched  the  novelty, 
absorbed;  it  enjoyed,  it  applauded  prodigiously;  but 
there  was  in  the  air  a  feeling  that,  good  as  a  play  with- 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  503 

out  words  might  be,  a  play  with  words  was  better.  Daly's 
sensitive  nerves  caught  the  impression  on  the  first  night 
that  his  public  was  not  with  him,  or  rather,  as  in  former 
experiences,  —  "Yorick,"  for  instance,  —  that  he  was  in 
advance  of  his  time;  and  in  less  than  a  week  the 
beautiful  play,  with  its  exquisite  setting,  music,  and 
acting,  became  merely  a  memory  of  Daly's  Theatre. 
But  though  the  artistic  value  of  "  L'Enfant  Prodigue" 
was  comprehended  only  by  an  appreciative  minority, 
its  production  was  strictly  in  the  line  of  managerial 
duty.  Such  work  as  Miss  Rehan's  had  never  been 
done  by  any  other  woman  on  our  stage  in  our  time. 
That  a  certain  number  of  people  understood  his  purpose 
in  producing  this  play  was  gratification  enough  for  the 
manager. 

The  revival  of  "Love's  Labour's  Lost,"  after  seventeen 
years,  was  given  March  28,  1891,  with  unusual  sump- 
tuousness  and  a  notable  cast.  Miss  Rehan  was  The 
Princess  of  France,  Miss  Edith  Crane  Rosaline,  Miss 
Adelaide  Prince  Maria,  Miss  Isabel  Irving  Katherine, 
Miss  Kitty  Cheatham  Jacquenetta,  James  Lewis  Costard, 
Drew  The  King  of  Navarre,  George  Clarke,  Bosworth,  and 
Bowkett,  Biron,  Longaville  and  Dumain.  Charles  Wheat- 
leigh  and  Wilfred  Buckland  were  the  lords  Boyet  and 
Mercade,  attendant  upon  The  Princess  of  France.  The 
eccentric  roles  were  in  competent  hands,  Sidney  Her- 
bert being  Don  Armado,  the  "fantastical  Spaniard," 
Flossie  Ethel  Moth,  his  page,  Charles  Leclercq  Sir  Na- 
thaniel, Harry  Edwards  Holoferness,  and  William  Samp- 
son Dull.  What  it  cost  in  thought  and  labor  to  stage 
"Love's  Labour's  Lost,"  rich  in  poetry  and  singularly 
barren  of  action  as  it  is,  even  Shakespearians  hardly 
appreciated.  A  letter  from  my  brother  during  the  last 
rehearsals  (March  26,  1891)  is  eloquent: 


504  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"Come  down  here  and  spend  about  7  hours  at  a  rehearsal 
trying  to  squeeze  juice  out  of  a  stone  (or  crystal  —  i.e.,  L.  L.  L.). 
It's  a  dreadful  job  —  worse  than  ever  —  tougher  than  before." 

The  play  ran  to  the  end  of  the  season,  except  that  on 
the  last  night,  April  11,  "The  Railroad  of  Love"  was 
given  for  a  leave-taking. 

The  death  of  a  warm  friend,  General  Sherman,  oc- 
curred on  February  15,  1891,  the  date  on  which  he  had 
intended  to  dine  with  my  brother.  From  the  ranks  of 
his  own  company  he  lost  the  excellent  Harry  Edwards 
(June  8,  1891)  and  Charles  Fisher  (June  11,  1891). 
On  March  18,  news  came  of  the  sudden  seizure  of  Law- 
rence Barrett  while  on  the  stage,  and  two  days  afterwards 
of  his  death.  On  the  31st  of  March  Edwin  Booth  an- 
nounced his  own  withdrawal  from  the  stage.  He  ap- 
peared for  the  last  time  on  April  4,  1891,  as  Hamlet  at 
the  Academy  of  Music  in  Brooklyn.  From  that  date  he 
lived  at  The  Players  in  Gramercy  Park  and  devoted  his 
evenings  to  receiving  with  simple  cordiality  his  fellow 
members  —  always  dining  with  them  in  the  grill  room 
and  sitting  with  them  until  bedtime.  He  presided  at 
the  regular  monthly  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Directors, 
and  enjoyed  having  to  be  constantly  prompted  in  putting 
motions  to  a  vote  and  announcing  the  result,  a  routine 
in  which,  after  innumerable  "repetitions,"  he  never  be- 
came perfect.  In  the  preceding  year  he  had  been  greatly 
disturbed  by  Augustin's  wish  to  resign  from  the  Club, 
owing  to  some  disagreement  about  the  policy  of  its  man- 
agement : 

"Hotel  Thorndike,  Deer  9  :  '90. 
Dear  Augustin, 

A  note  from  Hutton  yesterday  announcing  your  proposed 
withdrawal  from  our  Club  astonished  rtie  so  that  I  am  scarcely 
yet  recovered  from  the  embarrassment  it  caused  me.     His  let- 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  505 

ter  did  not  reach  me  till  late  yesterday  on  account  of  my  ab- 
sence from  the  hotel  on  a  visit  to  Aldrich,  and  I  could  but 
telegraph  you  hurriedly  to  wait  till  we  could  talk  the  matter 
over.  Whatever  is  amiss  I  hope  we  can  rectify,  and  I  earnestly 
hope  you  have  concluded  to  reconsider  your  resolve  and  will 
withdraw  not  your  valuable  self  but  the  most  unwelcome  mes- 
sage the  'Players'  could  receive.  I  am  much  afraid  that 
some  stupid  fault  of  my  own  has  influenced  your  feeling  in  this 
matter  —  my  incapacity  for  the  position  I  hold  in  the  Club 
makes  me  fear  that  many  errors  result  from  lack  of  judgment. 
It  is  impossible  for  me  to  write  more,  being  entirely  in  the  dark, 
and  so  incessantly  interrupted  as  I  am  while  attempting  to  dis- 
suade you  from  what  would  be  deeply  regretted  by  the  entire 
Club  —  by  none  more  sincerely  than  by        yr  friend 

Edwin  Booth." 

Augustin  could  not  resist  this,  and  the  resignation  was 
withdrawn.     He  remained  in  the  Club  while  Booth  lived. 

On  January  3,  1891,  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  on 
Twenty-eighth  Street  was  destroyed  by  fire. 

The  theatrical  season  just  ended  was  called  a  bad  one 
by  the  profession.  The  financial  panic  that  followed  the 
failure  of  the  Barings  in  November,  1898,  was  a  misfor- 
tune to  "the  poor  player,"  and  by  December,  road 
companies  were  disbanded  in  great  numbers.  Daly's, 
however,  hardly  felt  it,  and  the  manager  was  encouraged 
to  lay  out  large  sums  in  extending  his  stage  and  im- 
proving the  front  of  the  house  by  widening  stairways  and 
ornamenting  the  foyer. 

This  season  an  old  comedy  was  revived  by  Mr,  Daniel 
Frohman  in  his  little  Lyceum  Theatre  on  Fourth  Avenue 
between  Twenty-third  and  Twenty-fourth  Streets.  He 
brought  out  "Old  Heads  and  Young  Hearts"  on  Aprir6, 
1 891,  with  Herbert  Kelcey  as  Littleton  Coke,  W.  J.  Lemoyne 
as  Jesse  Rural,  Georgia  Cayvan  as  Lady  Alice,  Effie  Shan- 


5o6  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

non  as  Kate  Rocket,  and  Mrs.  Whiffen  as  Lady  Pompion, 
and  the  venture  was  highly  praised.  At  another  theatre, 
the  debut  of  an  ambitious  amateur,  Mrs.  James  Brown 
Potter,  was  the  subject  of  much  remark.  I  find  in  my 
brother's  scrapbooks  accounts  of  four  charity  benefits 
which  he  supervised  or  himself  donated  during  the  sea- 
son. He  also  presented  the  altar  of  St.  Augustin  and 
a  bell  to  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral,  a  Baptistry  to  the 
church  of  St.  Paul  the  Apostle,  and  an  altar-piece  to  the 
Cathedral  in  Denver,  Colorado. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

Extracts  from  a  manager's  correspondence.  The  stage-struck. 
Fledglings  who  fly  in  couples.  Brunettes  and  blondes  flock  to- 
gether. Desperate  ambitions.  Inquiries  from  the  unsophisti- 
cated. Various  forms  of  infatuation.  Infant  prodigy.  Soulful 
aspirants.  Social  recommendations.  Christian  life  and  the  stage. 
Geniuses  blushing  unseen.  Varied  orthography.  Attacks  of 
stage-fever  in  middle  age.  Flattery  and  the  telephone  girl.  Leav- 
ing the  pulpit  for  the  footlights.  The  amateur  playwright. 
Scenarios  and  samples  of  poetry.  Fertility.  Shrewdness.  Novel 
scheme  of  royalties.  Solar  system  dramatized.  Bacon  and  the 
phonograph.     Schemes  of  the  deadheads. 

Editors  and  publishers  have  their  trials  with  ignorant 
and  persistent  novices  In  the  literary  sphere,  but  what 
are  these  compared  with  the  adventurous  souls  possessed 
of  the  frenzy  to  get  within  the  glare  of  the  footlights  or 
to  hear  their  lines  uttered  from  the  stage  ?  The  stage- 
struck  are  numerous.  Many  who  wrote  to  my  brother 
were  of  tender  years,  and  sometimes  appealed  In  couples  : 
"I  am  fair  and  my  friend  Is  very  dark.  We  are  called 
day  and  night  because  I  am  very  fair  signifying  day  and 
she  dark  signifying  night,  and  we  are  called  the  dark  and 
light  Beauties."  Nothing  could  be  more  lucid.  "My 
friend  Is  a  magnificent  singer  she  has  a  superb  volse  and 
Is  a  very  graceful  dancer.  We  want  to  learn  the  Ballet 
dances  to  dance  on  the  stage  how  long  will  It  take  to  learn 
to  dance  and  learn  to  play  the  plays.  Our  parents  are 
vary  wealthy  and  we  vary  wild  and  they  treat  us  shame- 
fully and  we  have  made  up  our  minds  that  If  you  will  give 
us  a  situation  we  will  come  providing  we  can  get  the  stamps. 
We  will  have  to  run  away."     Another  pair  of  youngsters 

507 


5o8  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

are  not  so  desperate.  Sixteen  years  old,  "and  want  to 
take  part  in  some  piece  so  bad.  One  of  us  is  a  Blonde  the 
other  a  brunette,  are  from  very  respectable  families,  they 
do  not  want  us  to  go  on  the  stage  but  I  think  I  could 
coax  them  if  I  was  sure  of  a  place  on  the  stage.  We 
never  will  be  satisfied  with  anything  until  we  are  on  the 
stage.  Do  not  forget  to  answer  even  if  the  answer  be 
NO  then  we  will  be  satisfied."  Still  another  couple, 
seventeen  years  of  age,  present  the  same  contrasts  of 
appearance  and  the  same  determination.  The  writer 
has  black  hair,  dark  blue  eyes  and  is  "fair  complected." 
Her  friend  "is  also  light  complected.  We  hope  you  will 
excuse  our  impudence  in  doing  what  we  are  but  it  is 
our  ambition  to  get  on  the  stage  and  there  we  will  get." 
A  young  lady  who  is  seventeen  years  old  and  five  feet 
eight  inches  tall,  "and  take  it  altogether  not  a  bad  look- 
ing girl,"  hopes  that  Mr.  Daly  will  not  think  it  improper 
for  a  young  girl  to  write  to  the  manager  of  a  theatre,  but 
must  make  her  wants  known.  "I  have  everything  a 
girl  could  wish  for  but  Papa  wants  to  send  me  to  a  board- 
ing school  and  /  won't  go  and  that  settles  it.  I  am  will- 
ing to  do  anything  no  matter  what  for  the  sake  of  not 
studying  in  horrid  old  books."  She  offers  to  give  "plenty 
of  references"  If  they  are  desired  and  wishes  it  to  be  under- 
stood that  she  is  not  "some  novel-reading  girl."  Another 
aspirant  who  adds  the  curt  postscript  "  age  i6,"  announces 
that  she  has  seen  in  Munsey^s  Magazine  that  Mr.  Daly 
has  a  "house  or  school  for  training  young  people  for  the 
stage,"  and  that  it  has  always  been  her  desire  to  become 
an  actress.  Then  we  have  a  village  lass  who  "has  heard 
from  friends  that  Mr.  Daly  is  the  manager  of  a  theatre 
and  that  he  is  a  Respectable  Company",  and  "has  often 
wished  to  be  an  actress  if  she  could  find  a  decent  com- 
pany."    A  dutiful  child  of  sixteen  writes  with  her  father's 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  509 

permission  and  can  take  comic  and  sad  parts  very  good. 
A  very  precise  young  person  informs  the  manager  that 
she  is  exactly  15  years  3  months  and  16  days  old  on  the 
day  she  writes,  that  she  is  5  feet  tall  and  still  growing, 
and  that  she  would  like  to  play  all  of  Shakespeare's  fe- 
male characters  except  Beatrice  and  Katharine.  "In 
fact,"  she  adds,  "I  would  like  to  play  anything  where  I 
should  die."  She  frankly  states  that  if  she  should  have 
to  "drag  around  in  minor  parts"  all  her  life  she  would 
give  up  all  thoughts  of  the  stage  and  enter  a  convent 
when  she  comes  of  age.  There  is  a  very  confident  juvenile 
who  is  "not  afraid  to  take  any  carictor  in  any  play." 

Infant  prodigies  are  described  at  great  length  by  fond 
parents.  A  child  of  six  years  "plays  a  10  cent  harp  with 
3  sleigh  bells  on  rubber  at  wrist  and  shakes  a  hoop 
with  canary  bird  in  middle,"  besides  agitating  in  some 
mysterious  manner  a  whirligig  which  makes  a  sound  like 
a  nutmeg  grater,  "but  it  sounds  fine  with  the  harp." 

A  youth  of  eighteen  writes  that  if  he  goes  on  the  stage 
he  will  of  course  have  to  run  away  from  his  parents  ; 
but  generally  the  boys  are  not  so  rash  as  the  girls,  and 
are  certainly  more  shy  about  disclosing  their  ambitions. 

One  adult  writes  that  she  is  desirous  of  becoming  an 
actress,  "not  of  your  limp  namby-pamby  kind  but  a  whole 
soul  artist  whose  fate  it  has  been  to  inherit  a  volcanic 
temperature."  She  goes  into  the  best  society  and  has  a 
good  home,  but  her  love  for  art  overpowers  her.  Another 
lady  tells  us  that  she  does  not  rely  upon  the  fact  that  her 
family  is  one  of  the  most  aristocratic  of  the  state,  but 
upon  the  facts  that  she  is  well  educated  and  considered  a 
beauty  —  she  "is  a  brunette,  though  not  a  typical  one." 
A  third  who  also  goes  into  the  best  society  puts  the 
startling  query,  "Can  any  one  live  a  Christian  and  be  on 
the  stage  .^"     On  the  life  of  an  actress  she  seems  to  be 


5IO  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

fully  posted,  for  she  writes  that  she  has  a  faint  idea  of 
what  getting  up  at  two  or  three  after  going  to  bed  at 
eleven  and  twelve  must  be,  but  pluckily  guesses  she  could 
stand  that  and  "riding  in  freight  cars."  A  young  person 
who  sings  admits  frankly  that  "the  more  I  spread  myself 
the  flater  I  become."  She  aggressively  concludes  :  "You 
have  some  regular  'sticks'  in  your  company.  I  cant 
be  any  worse  than  they  are  and  maybe  better."  Com- 
pleter justification  for  addressing  a  manager  could  not 
be  disclosed  than  that  of  one  who,  at  26  years  of  age  and 
happily  married,  says  she  would  never  think  of  embracing 
a  theatrical  career  if  she  had  not  "transcendent  genius." 
More  modest  and  very  candid  is  the  lady  who  says  she 
is  not  particularly  brilliant,  and  has  not  the  spirit  of  a 
Siddons  nor  the  beauty  of  an  Anderson,  and  is  not  a  good 
actress,  but  is  simply  the  "victim  of  ennui  and  dolce  far 
niente,"  and  wants  to  be  amused  ! 

The  stage  is  one  profession  that  ought  as  a  rule  to  be 
entered  before  maturity.  Some  society  beauties  have 
successfully  made  a  mature  debut,  but  then  they  have 
probably  been  acting  almost  all  their  lives.  Women  or 
men  who  wait  until  a  ripe  age  to  gratify  a  secretly  cherished 
longing  for  the  boards,  forget  that  they  offer  their  attrac- 
tions in  a  market  well  supplied  with  youth,  beauty,  and 
experience.  We  can  fancy  the  fate  of  such  an  appli- 
cant as  the  "single  lady  of  35  who  could  easily  pass  for  25 
years";  or  the  "broken-hearted  woman  of  31";  or  the 
lady  who  "believes,  nay  knows"  that  she  has  in  her 
"the  elements  of  as  fine  a  tragedienne  as  ever  appeared 
in  this  country,"  who  would  prove  a  fortune  to  the  man- 
ager who  brought  her  out,  and  whose  only  fear  is  that  in 
acting  tragic  parts  her  emotion,  which  "is  apt  to  carry 
her  away,  may  prove  perilous  to  the  gentleman  who 
plays   with   her."     And    it   is   not   difficult   to   prophesy 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  511 

regarding  the  dashing,  brilliant,  and  beautiful  widow 
whom  twenty  persons  have  pronounced  a  born  Lady 
Teazle,  but  who  feels  that  she  is  "impregnated  with  the 
spirit  that  characterizes  Camille  in  her  scene  with  Duval 
pere^^ ;  or  the  lady  who  asks  the  manager  to  name  his  own 
price  for  bringing  her  out  and  guaranteeing  to  give  her 
"a  leading  roll"! 

A  touching  naivete  is  disclosed  in  the  letter  relating 
how  a  gentleman,  patron  of  the  writer's  telephone  booth, 
told  her  that  Mr.  Daly  ought  to  see  her,  for  "such  a  face 
and  figure  ought  to  be  behind  the  footlights  and  not  wasted 
on  the  desert  air  of  a  huge  office  building"  ;  and  how  many 
gentlemen  have  told  her  that  she  had  missed  her  calling 
and  "ought  to  be  an  actress  instead  of  an  operator." 
It  is  reassuring  to  learn,  however,  that  this  young  person 
has  kept  her  head  and  "will  not  give  up  her  position  for 
an  uncertainty,"  and  that  if  a  personal  interview  can- 
not be  granted  she  can  be  "rung  up"  and  talked  with  "a 
few  minutes."  It  was,  of  course,  in  England  that  the 
"two  friends"  who  wished  "to  get  on  the  stage"  and  who 
enclosed  a  stamped  envelope  for  reply,  were  by  present 
occupation  barmaids ;  and  it  was  in  America,  of  course, 
that  a  young  person  described  herself  as  a  sales-lady.  It 
must  be  admitted  that  only  in  the  female  sex  are  instances 
of  complete  frankness  to  be  found ;  e.g.,  one  married  lady 
candidly  writes  "I  am  stage  struck";  and  a  maiden  with 
admirable  simplicity  describes  herself  as  "hankering  for 
histrionic  honors"  and  determined  to  get  them,  although, 
as  she  declares,  "it  seems  to  be  as  hard  to  get  on  the 
stage  as  to  enter  paradise." 

The  mature  male  is  not  cursed  with  diffidence.  One 
writes  "with  cool  deliberation"  that  he  has  seen  Booth, 
Barrett,  and  Davenport  play  Hamlet,  and  believes  himself 
"capable  of  surpassing  them  all";  but  handsomely  offers. 


512  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

if  Mr.  Daly  after  hearing  him  recite  a  few  passages  says 
he  is  not  capable  of  filling  a  position  on  the  stage,  to 
abandon  the  idea  forever.  A  hero,  undismayed  by  any 
possible  discouragement,  is  determined  to  go  on  the  stage 
at  all  hazards,  because  he  has  "a  genus  for  it,  and  will 
keep  on  trying"  until  he  is  "90  years  of  age."  Another 
is  looking,  not  for  a  situation,  but  for  a  capable  manager 
to  bring  him  out  as  Hamlet;  and  a  young  man  "gifted 
with  many  talents  wishes  to  plant  the  germ  at  once  —  but 
where.''"  After  discussing  the  playhouses  of  the  period 
and  dismissing  the  Union  Square  as  too  monotonous, 
Wallack's  as  encouraging  none  but  "dropping-lidded  Eng- 
lishmen," and  the  Madison  Square  as  weak,  he  concludes 
that  Daly's  is  the  school,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  "senti- 
mental." A  ci-devant  college  professor  and  ex-minister 
of  the  Gospel,  "and  quite  successful  too,"  confides  that 
he  has  outgrown  most  of  the  religious  beliefs  of  the  day 
and  has  now  decided  to  try  the  stage  as  a  profession,  but 
not,  like  other  ministers  who  have  gone  on  the  stage, 
"to  advertise  himself."  Another  infatuated  writer  has 
the  idea  that  with  "  a  little  practise  "  he  could  "  speak  blank 
verse." 

Other  communications  must  have  been  intended  for 
Barnum ;  notably  one  from  a  lady  3  feet  3I  inches  high, 
and  one  from  a  gentleman,  incredible  as  it  may  seem, 
"loi  feet  tall." 

As  to  the  amateur  playwrights  :  An  Egyptian  semi- 
historical  spectacle  founded  upon  the  discovery  of  Moses 
by  Pharaoh's  daughter  is  described  in  a  letter  detailing 
its  fourteen  tableaux,  in  the  course  of  which  the  comic 
interest  is  to  be  supplied  by  a  captured  gorilla,  whose 
"hoarse  roar"  is  imitated  by  a  mechanical  contrivance 
to  be  furnished  with  the  literature.  The  author  modestly 
offers  his  production  as  "a  work  apart  in  the  class  Ai." 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  513 

Some  writers  furnish  more  than  a  mere  synopsis,  and 
quote  from  their  pet  lines  :  "Are  they,  those  wondrous 
orbs,  just  only  light,  The  ineffectual  tinsel  of  Nights 
Garb?"  "No,  love;  they  are  advertisements  of  the 
Proud  Skies.  Sometimes  when  I  do  think  on  them  I  do 
turn  good." 

An  industrious  writer  explains  that  he  has  just  com- 
pleted within  the  year  an  historical  comedy-drama  ;  a 
comedy  founded  on  the  "Pickwick  Papers"  ;  and  the  plan 
of  a  drama  "on  a  still  more  popular  book";  and  that  he 
is  now  at  work  on  "a  couplet,"  which  he  has  "material 
for  as  I  can  write  it  fast  or  slow  as  I  wish."  This,  he 
opines,  is  "just  the  play  for  the  Daly  Co.,"  and  will  re- 
ceive the  author's  "tenderest  care,"  as  he  is  in  love  with 
his  heroine  himself  and  "hates  to  part  with  her."  The 
vagueness  in  respect  of  facility  in  composition  which  is 
here  discernible  is  not  the  fault  of  another  correspondent, 
who  says  he  has  written  two  dramas,  and  "can  write 
very  good  poetry  at  an  average  of  70  lines  an  hour"  ! 
A  gentleman  whose  play  has  been  returned,  savagely  re- 
torts, "I  tell  you  distinctly  that  it  is  equally  as  good  as 
'The  Merchant  of  Venice'  or  as  'As  You  Like  It'  and  is 
so  pronounced  by  as  good  judges  as  yourself  of  the  drama." 
A  playwright  will  let  the  manager  have  his  piece  "for  one, 
two  and  even  three  months.  But  sir,  I  could  not  do  so 
other  than  with  your  signature  to  a  receipt."  Another 
author  will  meet  Mr.  Daly  and  read  a  play  to  him,  observ- 
ing "to  send  it,  thats  out  of  the  question,  for  such  is  not 
business."  The  wound  inflicted  by  such  a  want  of  con- 
fidence was,  however,  to  be  happily  healed  by  an  offer 
from  another  quarter  to  submit  a  piece  valued  tentatively 
by  the  author  at  ^15,000,  accompanied  by  the  declaration, 
"I  trust  to  your  honesty.  If  you  do  not  want  it  return 
at  my  expence";  and  by  such  handsome  compliments  as 


514  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

this,  which  we  find  on  a  post  card:  "I  once  heard  an 
author  say  that  you  were  the  only  gentleman  who  con- 
trolled a  theatre  in  N.Y.  because  you  answered  him 
promptly  and  without  equivocation  or  double  entendre 
although  your  reply  was  No." 

The  young  lady  who  demanded  as  royalty  "twenty  cents 
on  each  ticket  sold  for  a  reserved  seat  at  each  perform- 
ance" had  evolved  a  new  idea.  Another  dramatist  offers 
the  manager  who  will  "fix  up"  and  bring  out  his  play  a 
half  interest  in  a  gold  mine;  and  still  another,  with  a 
"system  of  plays,"  "blending  every  scientific,  social, 
political  and  financial  avenue  of  society,"  proposes  a 
"business  alliance  with  some  party  skilled  in  writing  plays 
to  help  fill  up  the  characters  as  they  occur  in  their  order." 
The  offer  of  a  deposit  of  ^5000  "as  guaranty"  must 
have  tempted  the  manager  greatly  to  "come  or  send 
some  one"  to  a  distant  city  to  read  a  play.  A  master  of 
circumlocution  asks:  "Could  I  be  capable  of  being  in- 
formed where  I  would  accomplish  a  first  class  man  that 
would  have  the  supplementary  powers  to  place  a  powerful 
drama  on  the  boards.^" 

Modesty  seems  rare  among  budding  dramatic  geniuses. 
"A  boy  not  yet  seventeen  years  of  age,"  who  has  written 
"a  tragedy  in  blank  verse  similar  in  form  to  the  classics 
of  Shakespeare  and  contemporaries,"  and  who  appraises 
his  production  at  the  reasonable  figure  of  ^30,  boasts 
that  he  is  "resolution's  slave,"  and  will  study  dramatic 
writing  at  any  cost  notwithstanding  parental  discourage- 
ment. One  feels  that  it  must  be  a  very  young  man,  too, 
who  has  written  a  certain  "Tradegy,"  and  that  they 
were  two  boyish  aspirants  who  composed  together  "The 
Priest  of  Appolo,  a  short  comedy  of  two  acts."  The 
literary  professor  who,  they  aver,  characterized  their 
work  as  a  proof  of  uncommon  ability,  must  have  over- 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  515 

looked  something.  Any  guess  at  the  age  of  the  gentleman 
who  informs  the  manager  "I  have  a  book  that  I  rote,  it 
is  of  a  play  description,"  would  be  futile;  but  we  must 
suppose  it  to  be  a  very  callow  person  who  inquires  whether 
*'a  drama  wherein  comedy  constitutes  a  prominent  part 
should  be  writen  in  dialect  or  gramaticaly  writen  al- 
lowing the  producers  the  liberty  of  the  interpritation  of 
the  dialect." 

Vast  possibilities  are  opened  by  "a  Drama  of  the 
Solar  System,"  representing  the  8  larger  planets,  all  the 
planetoids,  the  satellites,  some  of  the  comets,  and  showers 
of  meteors.  The  author  tells  us  that  350  or  360  persons 
will  be  needed  in  the  play,  the  satellites  and  planetoids 
to  be  represented  by  children  from  3  to  14  years  of  age. 
Relative  magnitudes  (Jupiter's  moon  Ganymede  being 
larger  than  Mercury)  and  relative  rates  of  speed  should 
be  maintained.  He  suggests  a  final  grand  march  of  orbs, 
comets,  meteors,  and  bolides  (how  would  one  costume  the 
bolides.'')  and  says  that  they  "might  be  made  intensely 
interesting."  It  seems  superfluous  for  him  to  have  added 
"All  rights  reserved." 

The  crowning  wonder,  however,  was  indicated  mysteri- 
ously by  a  writer  who  submitted  (1894)  a  play  which,  he 
said,  was  "just  such  as  Sir  Francis  Bacon  Intended 
should  celebrate  the  culmination  of  the  greatest  intel- 
lectual feat  ever  performed  by  man.  Three  centuries 
ago  he  spoke  Into  a  phonograph  that  Is  just  now  giving 
forth  the  tones  of  the  greatest  dramatist  and  most  wonder- 
ful genius  that  ever  trod  on  earth.  Don't  for  a  moment 
entertain  the  idea  that  I  am  mistaken.  I  can  prove  to 
any  one  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt,  that  Bacon  wrote 
all  of  the  plays  known  as  Shakespeare's.  The  play  will 
be  the  most  sensational  ever  put  on  a  stage  and  as  Bacon 
says,  'pile  up  thousands  in  a  trice.'"     The  title  of  this 


5i6  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

stunner  was  to  be  either  "A  Voice  from  the  Dead,"  or 
"Birnam  Wood  has  Come  to  Dunsinane."  The  author, 
as  appears  from  a  subsequent  letter,  was  much  nettled 
at  Mr.  Daly's  surmise  that  the  play  was  intended  to  be  a 
joke. 

My  brother's  correspondence  discloses  some  schemes 
for  getting  free  admissions  that  are  extremely  amusing. 
A  young  lady  (a  total  stranger),  who  expects  the  Daly 
Company  to  play  in  her  town,  confides  to  him  her  regret 
that  no  one  there  ever  thinks  of  asking  a  lady  to  go  to 
the  theatre.  She  could  easily  buy  seats  and  offer  one 
to  an  escort,  but  it  would  fill  her  with  pride  to  be  able  to 
say,  "A  friend  has  sent  me  some  complimentaries ;  will 
you  accept  one?"  A  young  salesman  studying  for  the 
stage,  who  needs  to  visit  the  theatre  often  to  complete  his 
education,  appeals  to  the  manager  for  a  pass,  adjuring 
him,  —  "Oh  answer  me  !  Let  me  not  burst  in  ignorance  ! " 
A  "plain  straightforward  business  man,"  noticing,  as  he 
says,  remarks  in  the  papers  about  a  free  list  and  passes, 
suggests  that  it  is  time  for  some  of  the  latter  to  come 
his  way,  and  adds,  "Two  orchestra  seats  for  next  Satur- 
day night  will  do." 

To  conclude  this  catalogue  of  oddities,  I  will  mention  a 
pious  correspondent  who,  reflecting,  as  she  says,  that  in 
this  great  metropolis  thousands  cannot  perhaps  find  time 
to  breathe  a  prayer,  will,  for  a  small  remuneration,  de- 
vote many  hours  a  day  to  prayer  for  those  who  have 
neither  leisure  nor  inclination  to  pray  for  themselves. 
As  advertisement  of  the  project  in  the  daily  papers  is 
thought  advisable,  a  small  contribution  for  the  purpose 
is  solicited. 


CHAPTER  XL 

William  Winter's  book  on  Ada  Rehan.  Her  letter  and  Coquelin's. 
Interdiction  in  France  of  Sardou's  "Thermidor."  "The  Prayer" 
played  at  Notre  Dame  University,  Indiana.  Visit  to  Rome.  Vene- 
tian holiday.  Third  visit  of  the  Daly  company  to  Paris.  Sardou 
and  Daly.  Remarkable  correspondence.  How  to  deal  with  two 
rival  managers.  Fifth  visit  of  the  Daly  company  to  London. 
Success  of  "The  Last  Word."  Daly's  Theatre,  London.  Mr. 
Whitelaw  Reid's  dinner.  The  Marlowe  Memorial  unveiled. 
Celebration  of  Mrs.  Gilbert's  seventieth  birthday.  Lord  Tenny- 
son gives  Daly  his  "Foresters"  to  produce  in  America.  Daly's 
alterations  for  acting  purposes  approved.  The  story  of  Katherine 
and  Petruchio  treated  by  a  Frenchman.  Madame  George  Sand's 
improvement  upon  "As  You  Like  It."  Plays  by  Paul  Blouet, 
Paul  Leicester  Ford,  Henry  Guy  Carleton  and  Oscar  Wilde. 
Return  to  America. 

In  January  (i89i)Mr.  Dalyhad  Mr.  William  Winter's  book, 
"Ada  Rehan,  a  Study,"  printed  for  presentation  only. 
The  limited  edition  in  quarto  was  embellished  with  twenty- 
one  portraits.  Miss  Rehan  wrote  to  Mr.  Daly  on  receiving 
a  copy  : 

"164  W.  93  rd  St. 
My  Dear  Dear  Mr.  Daly, 

I  have  thought  often  of  hovi^  I  am  to  thank  you  &  what  I 
am  to  say  for  the  beautiful  tribute  you  have  paid  me  —  but  such 
acts  of  kindness  fill  the  heart  too  much.  Such  generosity  speaks 
for  itself,  and  for  you  &  me  when  we  are  no  more.  I  will  steal 
a  few  lines  of  Herrick,  which  is  something  like  what  I  wish  to 
say : 

'Well  may  my  book  come  forth  like  Publique  Day 
When  such  a  light  as  you  are  leads  the  way, 
Who  are  my  work's  creator,  and  alone 
The  Flame  of  it,  and  the  Expansion. 
517 


5i8  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

And  look  how  all  those  heavenly  lamps  acquire 
Light  from  the  sun,  that  inexhausted  Fire. 
So  all  my  morne  &  Evening  stars  from  you 
Have  their  existence  —  and  their  Influence  too. 
Full  is  my  book  of  Glories ;  but  all  these 
By  you  become  Immortall  Substances.' 

Forever  gratefully  yours 
Feb.  25/91.  A^^  Rehan." 

Coquelin  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  his  copy  in  a 
letter  which  also  tells  of  the  interdiction  of  Sardou's 
"Thermidor"  by  the  Government  censor.  Here  is  a 
translation  of  it : 

"Friday,  February  13. 
Cher  ami  Daly, 

With  all  my  heart  I  thank  you  for  the  handsome  book  I 
received  from  you  yesterday  evening.  It  is  an  exquisite  monu- 
ment built  in  honor  of  your  greatest  and  most  loved  as  well 
as  most  admired  artist.  All  the  different  sides  of  Miss  Rehan's 
talent,  so  supple,  so  deep,  so  distinguished,  so  deliciously  ver- 
satile, are  brought  out  in  this  book  in  all  their  brightness,  and 
it  is  a  veritable  charm  to  turn  the  leaves  of  that  album,  where 
she  is  to  be  found  in  all  her  characters.   .   .   . 

...  If  I  have  not  written  to  you  for  a  long  while,  my  dear 
Daly,  it  is  because  I  have  had  every  annoyance  imaginable, 
and  was  no  more  inclined  to  talk  about  them  than  to  complain 
of  them.  What  a  funny  country  mine  is !  It  is  perhaps, 
apart  from  very  great  theatrical  curiosity,  the  only  one  that 
had  any  reason  to  greet  that  play  ^  as  a  lesson  of  history,  and 
it  is  the  only  one  where  the  play  is  forbidden.  It  had  scored 
an  immense  success,  and  I  had  found  in  it  my  best  part,  the 
most  complex,  the  best  developed ;  the  one  in  which  I  could 
best  express  my  love  for  my  profession  ;  and  through  an  idiotic, 
stupid,  shameful  order,  a  whim  of  the  canaille,  the  play  is 
stopped.     Yet  I  hope  the  last  word  has  not  been  spoken,  and 

* "  Thermidor." 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  519 

that  Sardou's  drama  will  be  given  back  to  us  together  with  his 
Labussiere  —  but  it  has  been  a  hard  blow  to  me,  as  artist  and 
as  Frenchman.  I  never  felt  so  humiliated.  What  shall  you 
do  this  summer  ?  Will  you  come  to  London  and  Paris .''  If 
so,  I  shall  see  you  this  time  in  both  places,  and  be  happy  to 
meet  you  again. 

Give  my  respectful  love  to  Miss  Rehan,  tell  her  of  my  joy 
at  having  seen  her  again  in  your  beautiful  book,  and  accept 
my  affection  and  cordial  devotion. 

Coquelin." 

Before  sailing  for  Europe  the  company  played  in  several 
American  cities,  and  made  a  flying  trip  to  South  Bend, 
Indiana,  to  give  a  performance  (June  15,  1891),  at  Notre 
Dame  University,  of  Maurice  Francis  Egan's  "The  Prayer." 
The  author  was  then  a  member  of  the  faculty  of  the 
University. 

On  July  I  the  company  left  New  York.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Daly  and  Miss  Rehan  went  for  a  vacation  to  Rome, 
Naples,  Pompeii,  Padua,  Verona  and  Venice.  I  never 
saw  enjoyment  greater  than  my  brother's  during  this 
Venetian  holiday.  It  was  enjoyed  with  boyish  glee.  An 
hour  of  such  pleasure  wiped  out  for  him  a  year's  worry. 

The  third  appearance  of  the  company  in  Paris  began 
August  31,  1891,  and  lasted  a  week,  during  which 
were  played  "As  You  Like  It"  ("Comme  II  Vous  Plait"), 
"The  School  for  Scandal"  ("L'Ecole  de  Medisance"), 
"The  Railroad  of  Love"  ("Le  Train  d'Amour"),  "A 
Night  Off"  ("Une  Soiree  de  Premiere"),  "Taming  of  the 
Shrew"  ("La  Megere  Apprivoisee")  and  "The  Lottery 
of  Love"  ("Les  Surprises  du  Divorce").  In  advance 
of  the  performances  the  Parisian  journals  devoted  many 
columns  to  theatrical  affairs  in  the  United  States.  Readers 
were  informed  that  New  York  alone  had  any  organized 
company   with   a   fixed   abode,   and   that  Boston,   Phila- 


520  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

delphia,  Washington,  San  Francisco,  and  Chicago  had 
theatres  but  no  companies. 

A  fine  house  welcomed  the  company  at  the  Vaudeville. 
This  time  the  Parisians  were  in  considerable  force.  "As 
You  Like  It"  was  studiously  followed,  book  in  hand. 
The  acting  was  declared  natural,  subtle,  and  careful ; 
Gil  Bias  observed  that  the  players  "not  only  delighted 
the  Anglo-American  colony,  but  interested  the  entire 
Paris  public.     Their  success  was  marked." 

"The  Lottery  of  Love"  was  familiar  to  the  Parisians 
as  Bisson  and  Mars'  "Surprises  du  Divorce."  M.  Mars 
came  to  see  it,  and  declared  the  American  version  "very 
good  indeed"  and  the  piece  excellently  acted.  He 
thought  Drew  played  more  "in  the  style  of  comedy" 
than  Jolly,  who  created  the  part.  There  was  no  doubt 
about  the  public  appreciation.  The  receipts  of  the  week 
were  over  27,000  francs.  But  more  gratifying  still  was 
the  demonstration  of  regard  by  the  eminent  French 
artists  of  the  day,  who  were  regular  visitors  to  the  per- 
formances. 

Sardou  was  to  come  up  from  Marley  to  dine  with 
Coquelin  and  accompany  him  to  the  Vaudeville  to  see 
"The  Railroad  of  Love."     He  wrote  on  September  i  : 

"Marley  le  Roi,  le  i""  Sept.  '91. 
My  dear  Daly, 

I  intended,  as  I  wrote  to  you,  to  go  this  evening  to  the 
Vaudeville  and  applaud  you  and  your  interpreters ;  but  an  un- 
expected incident  prevents  my  doing  so,  and  I  have  asked  De 
Gelbach,  with  whom  I  was  to  dine  in  company  with  Coquelin, 
to  present  my  regrets  and  my  apology.  I  intend  to  go  and 
see  the  Lottery  of  Love  on  the  5th  —  that  is,  Saturday  —  en 
jamille.  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  save  a  large  box  for  me 
on  that  day  —  we  shall  be  ten  !  !  I  should  have  much  pre- 
ferred   to    see    another  play  of  yours,  but   I   have  to  reckon 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  521 

with  my  children,  who  want  to  be  there;  and  they  won't  be 
free  till  Saturday.  I  counted  upon  seeing  and  talking  with 
you  this  evening.     I  should  not  go  to  Paris  till  Saturday. 

Sardou." 

Mr.  Daly,  as  we  know,  had  been  for  two  years  awaiting 
a  play  from  M.  Sardou  suitable  for  the  Daly  company. 
The  following  correspondence  relates  to  the  subject;  I 
anticipate  a  little  in  giving  it  here.  Mr.  Daly's  letters 
are  from  drafts  or  copies  I  find  preserved  with  M.  Sar- 
dou's  epistles,  of  which  this  one  is  evidently  in  answer  to 
a  communication  of  September  i  or  2  : 

"Marley  le  Roi,  Jeudi,  3d  Septembre,  1891. 
Dear  Daly,  — 

Dora  is  a  dramatic  comedy,  Fedora  a  bourgeois  tragedy, 
les  Pattes  de  Mouche  a  light  comedy  of  intrigue.  A  play  that 
savoured  of  all  three  at  the  same  time  would  be  something  like 
a  haunch  of  venison  and  shrimp  sauce,  covered  with  chocolate 
cream.  I  shall  never  manufacture  such  a  dish,  either  for  Froh- 
man  or  for  you  ! 

The  next  play  we  have  contracted  for  after  it  shall  he  pro- 
duced either  at  the  Fran^ais,  the  Vaudeville  or  the  Gytnnase,  will 
be  written  as  you  wish,  I  hope,  and  in  the  form  that  has  so 
often  been  successful  to  me.  .  .  . 

You  will  readily  admit,  my  dear  Daly,  that  since  we  made 
our  contract,  I  have  had  no  play  produced  at  the  Gytnnase,  at 
the  Vaudeville,  or  at  the  Fran^ais  except  Thermidor,  which  did 
not  answer  your  ideas,  which  I  loyally  offered  you,  and  which 
you  refused  —  a  fact  that  neither  surprised  nor  angered  me. 

Thus  I  remain  absolutely  faithful  to  the  letter  as  well  as  to 
the  spirit  of  our  contract,  with  the  very  great  desire  to  fulfill 
it  to  our  mutual  satisfaction. 

That  is  what  I  intended  to  tell  you  Saturday,  when  I  called 
on  you  at  the  Hotel.  But  you  did  not  answer  me  on  that 
point  .... 

My  friendship  to  yourself  and  all  around  you. 

V.  Sardou." 


522  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"My  dear  Daly 

I  should  not  have  a  free  moment  if,  in  addition  to  French 
newspaper  paragraphs,  I  should  have  to  correct  American 
canards.  I  have  been  asked  if  I  had  signed  a  new  contract 
with  you.  I  answered  that  I  had  not.  That's  all  there  is  in 
it.     Nothing  is  simpler,  and  you  may  correct  the  facts. 

As  for  the  offensive  comments,  I  hope,  my  dear  Daly,  that 
you  do  not  associate  me  with  these  villainies,  and  I  need  not 
even  defend  myself  in  that  quarter. 

Yours  most  affectionately, 

Sardou." 

"London,  Oct.  8,  1891. 
Aly  dear  Sardou. 

I  am  sorry  to  detain  you  a  moment  with  a  thought  of  my 
affairs  ;  but  the  case  seems  vital  to  my  interest  &  to  your  word 
of  honor. 

When  I  was  in  Paris  and  made  some  demur  to  your  writing 
a  play  for  another  American  manager  while  you  had  an  un- 
fulfilled contract  to  furnish  me  a  new  play,  a  contract  already 
over  two  years  old,  you  informed  me  then  in  self-justification 
that  this  was  an  old  play  of  yours  written  eight  years  or  more 
ago. 

Did  you  not  say  this  to  me  that  day  you  called  on  me  at  the 
Vaudeville  Theatre .'' 

In  the  face  of  this  comes  to  me  the  following  report  from 
New  York  giving  a  very  full  translation  of  a  very  long  letter 
of  yours  —  describing  the  new  play  which  you  say  you  are 
writing  for  the  other  manager;  a  play  which  is  positively  on 
the  very  lines  &  plan  which  you  and  I  discussed  at  Marley  nearly 
three  years  ago,  and  which  you  were  to  furnish  me  for  my 
Company. 

Am  I  not  justified  (after  reading  this  report,  which  I  enclose 
for  your  own  edification)  in  feeling  that  I  am  badly  used  & 
that  you  are  giving  another  what  you  had  already  sold  or 
contracted  to  sell  to  me .'' 

I  beg  a  reply  at  your  convenience." 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  523 

"Paris,  9  October,  1891. 
My  dear  Daly, 

I  did  not  tell  you  that  at  all.  I  did  not  tell  you  I  was  giv- 
ing Frohman  an  old  play  —  I  told  you  very  distinctly  that  it 
was  a  play  I  was  writing  for  him,  on  a  scenario  that  I  had  had 
in  my  mss.  for  a  long  while,  —  which  is  not  at  all  the  same  thing. 
I  contracted  with  you  for  a  new  play  to  be  produced  in  Paris; 
which  is  very  clear,  and  not  at  all  for  a  play  to  be  produced 
for  the  first  time  outside  of  Paris,  in  New  York. 

We  never  spoke  together  about  any  plot  or  any  plan  what- 
ever !  !  —  You  asked  me  to  contract  for  a  play,  the  first  comedy 
that  I  should  get  produced  in  Paris,  and  that  would  contain  a 
part  for  Miss  Rehan ;  that  is  what  I  am  under  contract  for, 
and  I  am  sorry  to  tell  you  that  your  letter  is  a  great  surprise 
to  me. 

I  am  giving  to  nobody  what  I  was  to  give  you,  and  I  per- 
mit you  neither  to  think  it  nor  to  say  it,  and  answer,  as  you 
ask  me  to,  at  my  convenience,  that  I  remain  strictly  and  hon- 
estly within  the  terms  of  my  contract. 

I  owe  you  the  first  play,  in  Jour  or  five  acts,  that  zvill  be  pro- 
duced in  Paris  and  that  will  contain  a  part  for  Miss  Rehan. 

That  is  all  I  owe  you.  I  never  bound  myself  to  ask  your 
permission  to  write  another  play,  at  my  convenience,  for  any 
American  manager  or  actor  that  I  chose,  and  whose  first  per- 
formance should  take  place  in  N.  Y.  —  Never! 

You  have  therefore  nothing  to  claim,  either  in  law  or  in 
equity,  save  what  is  in  your  contract,  and  I  hold  myself  to  this. 

A  thousand  friendships.  y^  Sardou." 

"Oct.  10/91. 
My  dear  Sardou, 

I  cannot  permit  one  instant  to  pass  after  the  receipt  of  your 
last  letter  without  a  reply  thereto;  for  I  will  not  suffer  for  a 
moment  that  any  one  should  charge  me  with  the  lie  as  you  have 
done  without  a  most  emphatic  answer. 

I  have  a  most  competent  witness  as  to  what  passed  be- 
tween us  at  Marley  and  again  at  Paris ;    and  I  assert  again 


524  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

that  at  Marley  we  conversed  directly  on  the  subject  &  char- 
acter of  the  play  I  wanted  —  which  was  to  be  in  the  character 
of  Dora  or  even  more  dramatic,  such  a  play  as  might  first  be 
produced  at  the  Fran^ais,  or  Gymnase,  or  Vaudeville.  And  I 
assert  again  that  when  we  met  at  the  Vaudeville  &  I  referred 
with  some  feeling  to  the  new  play  which  you  were  said  to  be 
writing  for  another  American  manager  —  you  told  me  the  play 
you  were  giving  him  was  an  old  play. 

However  —  I  see  very  plainly  that  I  am  not  dealing  with  a 
very  conscientious  man. 

You  have  had  20,000  francs  of  mine  for  over  two  years  as 
guarantee  for  the  refusal  of  the  first  play  you  would  write  which 
would  suit  my  purposes.  By  a  quibble  you  give  the  play  to 
another.  By  a  quibble,  I  say  —  for  if  you  should  have  pro- 
duced this  new  play  of  yours  first  in  Paris,  I  could  &  should 
claim  it  under  my  contract.  It  is  to  be  done  in  America 
first  —  &  I  am  in  a  manner  defrauded  of  my  right. 

But  there  is  a  way  to  end  all  this.     I  decline  to  have  any 

further  dealings  with  you.     You  may  keep  the  money  of  mine 

you  have  —  for  I  shall  claim  no  play  from  you,  if  it  was  the 

best  one  you  ever  wrote.  ,  •     t^  ,    ,, 

Augustm  Daly. 

"Paris,  Oct.  12,  1891. 

Let  me  first  observe  that  my  letter  was  most  courteous  and 
that  I  simply  desired  to  rectify  the  facts  in  a  friendly  way, 
without  ever  using  the  word  lie  —  which  I  leave  to  you,  and 
which  you  only  use  to  envenom  matters  purposely,  and  to  give 
you  a  pretext  to  break  off. 

But  since  you  assume  this  tone,  I  shall  not  hesitate  this  time 
to  speak  the  same  language  as  you. 

It  is  false,  absolutely  false,  that  I  said  to  any  one  that  the 
play  I  destined  to  Frohman  was  an  old  play.  What  I  said, 
and  what  is  quite  different,  is  that  it  was  a  play  planned  long 
ago,  in  form  of  scenario,  among  my  manuscripts,  and  which  I 
had  not  written  for  France  as  it  was  too  weak  for  the  present 
taste  of  our  Frenchmen,  who  want  something  more  spicy. 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  525 

It  is  false,  absolutely  false,  that  between  us  we  decided  upon 
a  subject,  a  plan,  for  the  play  I  was  to  write  for  you.  And  I 
defy  you  to  say  what  that  alleged  subject  consisted  of,  that 
imaginary  plan  you  are  inventing  for  the  purpose  of  suiting 
your  end. 

We  merely  spoke  of  the  kind  of  play,  which  is  quite  another 
thing.  Plays  may  be  written  of  the  same  kind,  with  different 
subjects  or  plans.  You  wanted  your  particular  play  to  be  of 
the  Dora  kind  or  even  more  dramatic,  as  you  admit  yourself. 

The  contract  furthermore  stipulated  that  the  play  should 
first  be  produced  in  Paris,  at  the  Vaudeville,  the  Gymnase, 
or  the  Frangais.  And  lastly  that  the  leading  part  should  be 
destined  for  Miss  Rehan. 

Such  are  the  facts,  the  agreements,  such  is  the  truth ! ! 

Now  the  play  I  have  written  for  Frohman  is  not  destined  to 
be  first  played  in  Paris,  at  the  Gymnase,  the  Vaudeville  or  the 
Frangais. 

It  is  not  of  the  Dora  kind  —  nor  dramatic.  It  is  a  pure 
comedy  in  three  acts  with  but  one  single  scene  in  the  third  act 
of  some  dramatic  character,  which  disappears  again  at  once. 

And  lastly,  the  principal  part,  a  young  girl,  would  not  suit 
Miss  Rehan,  who  is  a  woman. 

This  play,  accordingly,  answers  none  of  the  conditions 
of  our  contract,  and  if  I  had  offered  it  to  you,  you  would  cer- 
tainly have  answered  that  it  did  not  suit  you,  contending,  to 
justify  your  refusal,  that  it  was  not  to  be  first  played  in  Paris. 

Consequently  it  is  not  the  play  destined  to  you,  your  play,  as 
you  say !  And  the  one  of  us  who  fails  in  the  contract  is  not  I  —  it 
is  you!  who  are  taking  up  a  quarrel  for  the  sake  of  breaking. 

Well,  let  us  break !  —  I  offered  to  do  so  amicably  a  year 
ago,  and  to  refund  the  money.  A  few  weeks  ago,  at  the  Vaude- 
ville, I  should  have  done  the  same  if  you  had  expressed  the 
desire.  But  today,  in  presence  of  the  letter  you  dared  to  write 
me,  there  is  no  more  question  of  friendship.  I  stick  to  my 
right,  I  accept  the  break,  and  I  keep  the  money. 

Your  servant ! 
Vict  Sardou." 


526  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

Augustin's  disappointment  in  the  Sardou  matter  came, 
happily,  while  he  was  having  success  in  England  and 
was  also  occupied  with  plans  for  Daly's  Theatre  in 
London. 

On  their  return  from  the  gratifying  week  in  Paris,  the 
company  opened  at  the  Lyceum  Theatre,  which  had 
been  hired  for  fifteen  weeks  at  £400  per  week  from  Mr. 
Irving.  The  play  presented  on  September  9  was  "A 
Night  Off,"  already  very  familiar  to  the  London  public. 
Augustin  wrote  me  on  the  12th: 

"We  opened  here  on  Wednesday  night  to  one  of  the  largest 
audiences  I  ever  had  in  England.  But  'A  Night  Off'  is  voted 
beneath  the  Company  now  (especially  beneath  Miss  Rehan) 
and  so  it  has  failed  to  draw.  The  scenes  for  Last  Word  are  not 
ready,  so  we  can't  change  until  Saturday  the  19th.  Last 
year  everybody  cried  for  'A  Night  Off,'  but  the  success  of 
'As  You  Like  It'  and  other  plays  put  it  off.  Six  years  ago  at 
the  Strand  it  was  my  great  card.  Today  London  turns  its 
back  on  it. 

Our  season  in  Paris  was  successful  in  every  way.  The 
receipts  of  the  six  performances  were  within  a  fraction  of  25,000 
francs,  nearly  $5,000.  The  work  was  too  great,  however,  and 
the  anxiety  too  wearing.  I  shall  not  play  in  Paris  again.  We 
are  all  well,  although  .  .  .  Mrs.  Gilbert  suffers  from  the 
bruises  and  hurts  she  had  through  a  wardrobe  in  her  room  in 
Paris  falling  over  on  her." 

"September  i8th,  '91. 

Business  has  picked  up  a  bit  with  the  cooler  weather.  I  hope 
the  Last  Word,  which  we  produce  tomorrow  night,  (19th), 
will  please  better  —  or  rather  draw  better ;  for  Night  Off^ 
though  it  was  scored  by  the  press  and  has  comparatively  light 
houses,  has  gone  with  all  the  old  time  laughter  &:  calls.   .   .   ." 

"The  Last  Word"  was  an  astonishing  success.  The 
New   York    papers    of    September    20    contained     cable 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  527 

despatches    announcing    the    fact.     Augustin    wrote    on 
October  i  : 

"The  papers  you  sent  hardly  express  half  the  sensation  which 
The  Last  Word  has  made  here  and  the  tumult  which  Miss 
Rehan's  performance  creates  every  night.  If  I  were  a  Lon- 
don manager  I  would  (on  the  strength  of  this  success)  take 
half  a  year's  holiday." 

In  this  their  latest  production  the  Daly  company  at- 
tained the  summit  of  dramatic  reputation  abroad.  With 
regard  to  Miss  Rehan's  acting,  one  writer  declared  that 
"There  is  no  English  speaking  actress  who  at  the  present 
moment  exercises  anything  like  the  charm  that  belongs 
to  the  leading  lady  of  Daly's  Company  .  .  .  who  has 
taken  London  by  storm." 

This  prodigious  success,  the  culmination  of  so  many 
others,  resulted  in  the  building  of  Daly's  Theatre  in  Lon- 
don, which  became  necessary  since  Irving  declined  to 
give  the  time  wanted  for  1892,  as  did  the  management  of 
the  Haymarket.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  October 
30,  1891  : 

"Gaiety  Theatre,  Strand,  London  W.C. 

Mr.  George  Edwardes  requests  the  pleasure  of  com- 
pany on  the  morning  of  Friday  next,  at  12  o'clock,  to  witness 
the  ceremony  of  laying  the  Foundation  stone  by  Miss  Ada 
Rehan  of  the  new  Theatre  which  he  is  constructing  for  Mr. 
Augustin  Daly.     Entrance  in  Coventry  Street. 

R.S.F.P." 

Mrs.  Bancroft  christened  the  new  theatre. 

During  this  long  and  pleasant  stay  in  London,  Mr. 
Whitelaw  Reid  made  up  a  party  for  dinner  and  the  opera 
on  Augustin's  birthday.  The  Marlowe  Memorial  was 
unveiled  at  Canterbury  in  September,  and  the  Mayor 
invited  Mr.   Daly  and    all    the  company  to  be  present. 


528  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

A  delightful  episode  was  the  celebration  of  the  seventieth 
birthday  of  Mrs,  Gilbert  by  Mr.  Daly  at  the  Savoy  Hotel. 
The  famous  Mrs.  Keeley  was  there,  now  eighty-five  years 
of  age,  and  regarding  "grandma  Gilbert"  as  a  mere  girl. 
Mrs.  Mellon  (Miss  Woolgon,  the  original  Tilly  Slozvboy 
and  Fanny  Squeers),  Mrs.  Bancroft,  Mrs.  Genevieve 
Ward,  Mrs.  Farjeon  (daughter  of  Joseph  Jefferson), 
Henry  Howe,  in  his  eightieth  year  (perhaps  the  only 
Quaker  in  the  profession),  and  Harold  Frederic  were 
among  the  guests.  All  the  ladies  responded  prettily 
when  toasted,  and  Mrs.  Bancroft  proved  to  be  an  ac- 
complished after-dinner  speaker. 

Lord  Tennyson  had  recently  placed  in  Mr.  Daly's 
hands  for  production  a  pastoral  comedy  founded  upon 
the  story  of  Robin  Hood  and  Maid  Marian,  and  it  was  the 
poet's  wish  that  Miss  Rehan  should  create  the  part  of  his 
woodland  heroine  and  that  the  first  production  should 
take  place  in  New  York.  He  entertained  Mr.  Daly  and 
Miss  Rehan  at  his  place  in  Surrey  to  discuss  the  projected 
venture  and  to  hear  Miss  Rehan  read  his  lines;  and  in- 
trusted the  shaping  of  the  play  for  theatrical  purposes  to 
the  American  manager,  consenting  in  advance  to  such 
changes  as  Mr.  Daly's  experience  should  suggest.  The 
dramatic  poem  had  not  been  composed  with  a  view  to 
stage  representation ;  it  had,  however,  attracted  profes- 
sional attention,  and  it  was  said  that  Miss  Mary  Ander- 
son was  prevented  only  by  her  marriage  from  introducing 
it  to  the  public.  Tennyson's  "Queen  Mary"  had  been 
produced  by  Irving  in  1876;  "The  Falcon"  afterwards, 
by  the  Kendalls;  "The  Promise  of  May"  by  Mrs.  Ber- 
nard Beere;  and  Miss  Ellen  Terry  had  created  the  part 
of  Camma  in  "The  Cup"  at  the  Lyceum  Theatre  in  1881. 

Great  as  the  compliment  was,  Mr.  Daly  had  accepted 
a  task  of  no  common  difficulty.     The  play  had  charm, 


AuGusTiN  Daly 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  529 

but  no  strength.  He  prepared  an  acting  version  from  the 
author's  copy,  had  it  typed,  and  sent  it  to  Mr.  Hallam 
Tennyson,  who  conducted  all  the  correspondence  of  his 
father,  then  eighty-two  years  old.  On  the  title-page  Mr. 
Daly  made  two  memoranda  —  one  related  to  the  title 
itself,  which  originally  stood  "Under  Green  Leaves; 
or  the  Foresters  and  Maid  Marian"  ;  he  proposed  to  change 
it  to  "The  Foresters  :  Robin  Hood  and  Maid  Marian," 
saying  : 

"My  dear  Hallam  Tennyson:  Whatever  title  Lord  Tenny- 
son finally  selects  I  will  abide  by.  I  give  you  my  preference 
here." 

The  other  memorandum  ran  as  follows  : 

"This  copy  is  simply  my  suggestion  for  the  acting  play; 
or  for  the  work  as  it  can  be  acted  understandingly.  I  may 
have  omitted  too  much.  Restore  again  what  you  positively 
wish  to  go  in,  but  I  think  the  shaping  of  the  piece  should  stand 
as  I  give  it  here." 

The  changes  as  they  left  Mr.  Daly's  hands  were  more 
than  the  mere  customary  "omissions  for  representation" 
familiar  to  students.  There  were  transpositions  of  scenes 
and  incidents,  including  a  material  change  in  the  principal 
episode ;  the  dream  of  Robin  Hood  and  the  fairies'  visit 
were  transferred  to  Maid  Marian.  It  is  enough  to  say 
that  the  author  did  not  question  the  propriety  of  the 
change,  and  that  he  immediately  rewrote  the  scene.  In 
the  published  edition  of  the  poet's  work  the  reader  will 
see  the  passage  as  originally  written.  On  September  20, 
1 89 1,  Hallam  Tennyson. wrote  : 

"By  all  means  prepare  yourself  for  a  visit  any  day  early  in 
October,  and  will  you  tell  Miss  Rehan  that  my  Father  and 
Mother  would  like  her  to  stay  here  any  Sunday  night  that  would 


530  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

be  convenient  to  her.  There  is  a  7  o'clock  train  from  London 
on  Sunday.  He  would  like  to  talk  to  her  about  Maid  Marian. 
Ought  not  the  play  to  be  called  '  Robin  Hood  and  Maid  Marian '  .^" 

On  October  5  Mr.  Daly's  manuscript  was  received 
by  Lord  Tennyson  and  the  alterations  were  taken  in  hand 
at  once.  By  this  time  the  English  papers  were  full  of 
the  subject,  and  every  rumor  was  immediately  published, 
including  a  story  that  Irving  had  suggested  the  idea  of 
the  piece  to  the  Laureate.  He  did  not  authorize  any 
such  assertion.  But  there  was  much  "gabbling,"  as 
Hallam  Tennyson  called  it,  in  the  papers. 

Questions  of  copyright  having  been  submitted  to 
counsel  and  settled,  the  formal  agreement,  portentous  in 
size,  was  drawn  by  the  author's  English  solicitors. 

This  abstract  and  brief  chronicle  would  be  incomplete 
if  it  did  not  record  some  of  the  journalistic  humor  evoked 
by  the  Poet  Laureate's  ready  submission  to  the  Daly  sug- 
gestions in  preparing  the  work  for  the  stage.  Two  effusions 
will  suffice  as  specimens  : 

"If  I  have  overwrit,  and  laid  — 

It  may  be  here,  it  may  be  there, 
The  fat  too  thickly  on  —  with  care 

To  cut  it  down  be  not  afraid."  (Punch) 

"Air 'Patience.' 
Lately,  aye  and  Daily,  I  the  poet  T — 
Worked  at  a  play  which  seemed  to  suit  A.  Daly. 
I  may  say  at  once  'tis  a  kind  of  comedee, 

Just  the  thing  for  Daly,  O ! 
Plot  I  don't  much  care  for, 
Only  language,  therefore 
Thought  I,  that's  the  thing  for  Daly,  O!" 

There  was  much  more  as  valuable,  in  prose  and  verse. 
While  Daly  was  in  London,  a  unique  experiment  was 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  531 

interesting  the  Parisians.  Ever  since  M.  Coquelin  had 
seen  Miss  Rehan  in  "The  Taming  of  the  Shrew"  he  had 
dreamed  of  enacting  Petruchio  to  her  Katharine^  and  if 
that  seemed  impracticable,  owing  to  the  confusion  of 
tongues,  then  of  creating  a  Petruchio  of  his  own.  The 
dramatist  Delair  was  encouraged  to  prepare  a  version  of 
the  "Shrew"  for  the  Comedie  Fran^aise  in  which  Petruchio 
should  be  the  leading  character  —  not  the  brute  that 
Shakespeare  drew,  but  a  gay  and  spirituel  farceur,  sub- 
jugating Katharine  by  Italian  finesse  and  sixteenth  cen- 
tury buffoonery,  until  she  was  wearied,  worn,  and  tricked 
into  submission.  She,  in  turn,  was  not  to  be  the  majestic 
termagant  abhorrent  to  Parisian  taste,  but  a  spoiled 
child  indulged  by  her  parents  —  otherwise  all  that  a 
young  person  should  be.  This  play,  Coquelin  wrote, 
was  having  an  immense  success,  crowding  the  theatre  at 
every  performance.  He  got  M.  Delair  to  accept  7500 
francs  for  the  American  rights  (Mr.  Daly's  offer)  in  the 
hope  of  either  playing  in  it  with  Miss  Rehan  or  of  cre- 
ating the  new  Petruchio  alone  under  Mr.  Daly's  manage- 
ment if  she  did  not  fancy  herself  as  this  bonny  Kate. 
Madame  George  Sand,  by  the  way,  prepared  in  1856  a 
version  of  "As  You  Like  It"  for  the  Fran9ais  in  which 
she  interpolated  two  love  scenes  for  Celia  and  the  mel- 
ancholy Jaques,  described  by  the  French  press  as  "of 
great  charm  and  exquisite  tenderness." 

Paul  Blouet  had  written  a  comedy  for  Forbes  Robert- 
son which  he  wished  Daly  to  do  in  America ;  and  Fitz- 
gerald Molloy,  the  author  of  a  popular  life  of  Peg  Wof- 
fington,  had  finished  a  comedietta,  "Saucy  Kitty  Clive" 
(his  first  play),  which  was  accepted.  Harold  Frederic 
dramatized  his  novel  (published  in  1887),  "Seth's  Brother's 
Wife, "  and  offered  it  with  a  new  part  added  for  stage 
effect :    and  Oscar  Wilde  wrote  : 


532  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"i2  Tite  Street,  Chelsea  S.W. 
Dear  Air.  Daly, 

I  send  my  play  'A  Good  Woman'  (four  acts);  I  should  so 
much  like  you  to  read  it  and  let  Miss  Rehan  see  it  also.  I 
should  sooner  see  her  play  the  part  of  Mrs.  Erlynne  than  any 
English-speaking  actress  we  have,  or  French  for  that  matter. 
Anderson  tells  me  you  have  kindly  promised  to  let  me  have  it 
back  on  Monday  morning.  Would  you,  if  it  would  not  too 
much  trouble  you,  let  me  have  it  by  a  messenger.  I  will  be  at 
home  at  12  o'c.  and  receive  it  from  him.  Accept  my  warmest 
congratulations  on  the  great  success  of  your  season,  and  with 
kind  regards  to  Miss  Rehan 

Believe  me 

Oscar  Wilde." 

Henry  Guy  Carleton  was  in  the  field  with  two  plays. 
One  had  been  acted  already,  and  he  candidly  enclosed  to 
Mr.  Daly  "one  of  the  bad  notices  —  the  worst  in  fact  it 
had  received."  Paul  Leicester  Ford  submitted  a  comedy, 
"Cupid's  Insurrection." 

On  the  15th  of  November  the  Daly  company  sailed 
for  home,  whither  the  manager  had  preceded  them. 


CHAPTER  XLI 

Season  of  1891-1892.  Three  revivals  and  two  new  plays  before  the 
production  of  "The  Foresters."  New  additions  to  the  company. 
Pinero's  "Cabinet  Minister."  A  new  comedy  from  the  French, 
"Love  in  Tandem."  "The  Foresters"  produced.  Success  cabled 
to  Tennyson  and  Arthur  Sullivan.  Theodore  Watts.  Sullivan's 
labor  with  the  music.  His  letter.  Messages  from  Tennyson. 
Tennyson  and  the  omissions  from  the  text.  The  "  deer  speech " 
restored.     Eugene  Field's  views  about  writing  prologues. 

The  home  theatre  was  now  practically  reconstructed. 
The  stage  had  been  increased  in  depth,  the  foyer  stair- 
cases enlarged,  and  the  foyer  and  auditorium  redecorated. 
These  improvements,  and  the  prolonged  season  at  the 
Lyceum  Theatre,  had  delayed  the  New  York  opening 
until  November  25,  1891,  when  "The  Taming  of  the 
Shrew"  was  revived  with  Tyrone  Power  as  Christopher 
Sly.  Then  followed  "The  School  for  Scandal"  with 
Eugene  Jepson  as  Sir  Oliver,  "The  Last  Word,"  and  "As 
You  Like  It."     Crowds  came  to  see  these  revivals. 

Pinero's  new  comedy,  "The  Cabinet  Minister,"  was 
given  on  January  22,  1892,  with  two  newcomers.  Miss 
Percy  Haswell  and  Miss  Louise  Sylvester.  The  play  was 
a  delight  to  a  few,  but  the  verdict  on  the  first  night  was 
not  encouraging.  The  absence  of  Miss  Rehan  from  the 
performance  doubtless  threw  a  shadow  upon  it.  Pinero 
wrote  to  Augustin  on  January  26,  1892  : 

"My  dear  Daly 

I  am  indeed  sorry  to  learn  that  The  Cabinet  Minister  has 
served  you  so  bad  a  turn.  A  combination  of  circumstances  — 
to  which  the  unhappy  author  has  contributed  his  full  share  — 

533 


534  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

has  evidently  settled  the  play  on  your  side  of  the  water.  I 
think  with  you  that  the  wise  course  is  to  dismiss  disasters  from 
one's  mind.  After  a  while  the  process  becomes  a  mechanical 
matter  and  it  is  possible  to  defy  misfortune.   ..." 

On  January  19  "Nancy  &  Co."  was  revived,  and 
"Love  in  Tandem,"  from  the  "Vie  a  Deux"  of  Henri 
Bocage  and  Charles  de  Courcy,  was  produced  on  Feb- 
ruary 9.  The  run  of  this  brilliant  comedy  had  to  be 
curtailed  for  the  production  of  "The  Foresters,"  which 
was  now  ready. 

On  March  17  an  expectant  audience  gathered  for  the 
first  representation.  It  was  known  that  the  aged  author 
awaited  the  event  with  solicitude,  and  had  been  so 
concerned  by  idle  rumors  concerning  it  that  on  January 
16,  1892,  he  cabled  Mr.  Daly: 

"Is  report  true  that  Miss  Rehan  retires  from  your  Company  ? 

Tennyson." 

It  was  the  production  of  Pinero's  play  without  Miss 
Rehan  that  had  afforded  paragraphers  a  chance  to  startle 
the  Daly  public  and  alarm  the  author.  Mr.  Hallam 
Tennyson  was  solicitous  about  the  English  as  well  as  the 
American  copyright,  and  being  advised  that  both  would 
be  secure  if  a  performance  could  be  given  in  England  on 
the  same  date  as  that  of  the  American  production,  sent 
the  following  message  on  February  7  : 

"Cable  exact  date  of  performance  in  order  to  engage  theatre 
here." 

He  repeated  the  request  on  March  8.  Arrangements  were 
made  with  Henry  Irving  for  the  use  of  the  Lyceum 
Theatre  for  the  single  copyright  representation.  Mr. 
Irving  and  Miss  Terry  were  spectators,  and  Irving  cabled 
to  Daly  on  the  17th  : 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  535 

"Foresters  successfully  produced.  Public  performance  ten 
o'clock  this  morning.     No  critics  present. 

Irving." 

It  is  not  easy  fully  to  convey  the  expectancy  of  the 
audience  at  the  rising  of  the  curtain  on  the  first  night  of 
Tennyson's  play.  There  had  been  an  idea  that  the 
charm  of  the  acting  and  the  wealth  of  decoration  might 
not  serve  to  conceal  the  dramatic  deficiencies  of  this 
work  of  the  poet,  who  had  never  shown  himself  an  effec- 
tive dramatist.  It  was  therefore  a  gratification  to 
watch  the  simple  legend  of  Sherwood  Forest  unfold 
itself  with  easy  grace  and  charm. 

The  acting  of  Miss  Rehan  in  the  part  was  anticipated 
by  Theodore  Watts,  "the  friend  of  poets  and  their  most 
valued  critic,"  in  an  interview  in  London  after  a  visit  to 
Tennyson,  during  which  he  had  heard  the  new  play  read. 
He  said  {London  Times,  October  4,  1891)  : 

"Never  did  the  poet  reveal  his  sympathy  with  the  spirit  of 
the  English  woodlands  more  deeply  than  in  this  comedy,  over 
which  hangs  the  magic  of  the  fairyland  of  the  'Midsummer 
Night's  Dream'  and  'The  Faithful  Shepherdess.'  Nor  would 
it  be  easy  to  imagine  any  character  more  suitable  to  bring  out 
the  peculiar  and  fascinating  piquancy  of  Miss  Ada  Rehan's 
acting  than  that  of  the  heroine  of  this  play.  Of  this  acting  the 
special  quality  is,  perhaps,  that  when  her  forces  are  fully  focused 
in  a  dramatic  situation,  as  they  will  be  in  many  a  one  in  this 
play,  her  command  over  all  bodily  expression,  both  of  face  and 
limbs,  is  so  perfect  that  it  is  impossible  to  say  whether  the  move- 
ment is  born  of  the  word  or  the  word  of  the  movement,  and 
although  the  dramatist  had  not  this  actress  in  his  mind  when 
he  drew  the  heroine,  the  character  harmonizes  with  the  unique 
charm  of  her  genius  as  entirely  as  though  it  had  been  created 
for  her." 


536  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

One  of  the  surprises  of  the  play  was  the  song  "Love 
flew  in  at  the  window,"  sung  by  Miss  Rehan  in  the  first 
act,  the  only  time  that  an  audience  had  heard  her  sing- 
ing voice  since  her  first  entry  upon  the  stage  of  this 
theatre  in  1879,  when  she  appeared  in  "Love's  Young 
Dream."  Tennyson's  words  and  Sir  Arthur  Sullivan's 
music  were  touchingly  rendered  by  her.  Praise  was 
bestowed,  without  reserve  and  without  exception,  upon 
her  performance  and  that  of  Mr.  Drew  and  the  others. 
After  the  third  act  Daly  was  called  for,  and  appeared  to 
receive  one  of  the  most  rapturous  demonstrations  in  his 
experience.  He  did  what  was  uncommon  for  him  — 
addressed  the  audience,  concluding,  "In  Lord  Tennyson's 
name  I  thank  you  for  your  most  favorable  reception  of 
his  comedy,  and  in  the  name  of  Miss  Rehan,  of  Mr. 
Drew  and  of  my  entire  company  I  thank  you  for  your 
hearty   and   sympathetic   reception   of   their   endeavors." 

As  soon  as  the  curtain  fell  upon  an  assured  triumph, 
the  news  was  cabled  to  the  Laureate  and  immediately 
acknowledged  by  him  : 

"Warmest  thanks  to  yourself  and  Miss  Rehan  and  all  who 
have  taken  so  much  trouble.  Our  congratulations  upon  the 
splendid  success. 

Tennyson." 

The  members  of  the  company  were  photographed  in 
costume,  singly  and  In  groups,  and  a  set  of  the  plates 
was  sent  to  the  author.  Mr.  Hallam  Tennyson  wrote 
from  Farringford,  Isle  of  Wight,  on  April  14: 

"My  father's  warm  thanks.  He  admires  Miss  Rehan  in 
the  armor  and  with  her  big  shield  most;  and  when  she  is  point- 
ing so  boldly,  bow  in  hand.  What  a  beautiful  Titania  you 
have !  The  pictures  are  all  very  suggestive  of  capital  group- 
ings, and  the  dresses  look  splendid.     Robin  looks  a  handsome 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  537 

fellow  and  athletic  to  boot.  The  best  reviews  of  the  play  in 
England  have  been  the  Daily  News,  Saturday  Review,  and 
Athenaum  this  week." 

The  costumes  were  designed  by  Mr.  W.  Graham  Robert- 
son, and  a  collection  of  the  photographs  was  mailed  to 
him.  He  wrote  from  Sandhills,  Witley,  Godalming,  on 
April  19: 

"They  will  have  for  me  an  additional  value  as  remembrances 
of  your  kindness  &  sympathy  with  my  work.  I  am  delighted 
to  hear  from  Miss  Rehan  of  the  continued  success  of  the  'For- 
esters. ' " 

Sir  Arthur  Sullivan  was  also  cabled  to  on  the  night  of 
the  great  success.  An  elaborate  letter,  too  long  to  quote 
here,  written  to  Augustin  as  early  as  December,  shows  his 
conscientious  and  minute  care  in  every  matter  of  prepa- 
ration. Upon  the  music  for  the  fairy  scene,  which  he  says 
bothered  him  a  good  deal,  he  had  been  in  correspondence 
with  Lord  Tennyson,  and  wished  he  could  have  had  a 
half  hour's  consultation  with  Mr.  Daly.  He  had  the 
parts  copied  by  his  own  copyist  and  staff,  who  under- 
stood every  indication  in  the  score.  He  had  calculated 
the  minimum  for  the  orchestra,  and  had  omitted  cornets, 
trombones,  and  drums,  but  said  there  would  be  needed 
"2  flutes,  I  oboe,  2  clarinets,  2  bassoons,  2  horns,  i  tri- 
angle for  the  fairy  scene,  6  first  violins,  4  second  ditto, 
2  violas,  2  cellos,  and  2  double  basses."  Good  men 
should  be  chosen,  "as  two  good  strong  double  basso 
players,  for  instance,  produce  more  tone  and  a  better 
musical  sound  than  four  duffers."  When  the  news  of 
the  success  came  to  him,  he  had  just  been  through  a 
distressing  Illness,  and  wrote  a  long  letter  which  is  given 
here  in  part : 


538  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"Villa  Masse,  Turbie  sur  Mer,  Alpes  Maritimes. 

27  March,  1892. 
Dear  Mr.  Daly, 

In  the  first  place  please  forgive  my  writing  in  pencil,  but  as 
I  am  still  in  bed  &  very  weak  I  dare  not  risk  the  damage  which 
I  might  do  to  the  sheets  if  I  used  ink !  Besides,  the  labor  is 
greater.  I  was  delighted  for  every  one's  sake  when  I  received 
your  telegram  announcing  the  success  of  'The  Foresters'  — 
afterwards  confirmed  by  all  the  newspaper  reports.  Author, 
composer,  actors  &  last  but  not  least,  manager,  seemed  to  have 
scored  a  success,  and  that  is  always  satisfactory.  I  was  too 
ill  to  write  or  take  any  active  part  (by  suggestion  &c.)  in  the 
production,  but  none  the  less  I  was  keenly  interested  in  it  & 
had  many  practical  ideas  on  the  subject.  But  when  one  is 
racked  by  physical  pain,  and  then  in  the  reaction  prostrated  by 
weakness,  it  is  impossible  to  show  active  interest  in  anything, 
and  I  really  have  had  a  very  bad  time  of  it  lately.  .  .  .  This 
is  all  about  myself,  nothing  about  the  'Foresters'  yet,  but  I  am 
sure  you  will  forgive  this  little  egotism.  I  am  especially  de- 
lighted that  the  fairy  scene  was  so  successful  —  because  this  is 
the  most  important  musical  number  in  the  piece,  and,  although 
I  have  not  read  any  detailed  criticism,  I  expect  your  stage 
managed  it  exactly  as  I  had  figured  it  to  myself.  It  wanted 
delicate  handling,  and  by  a  practical  stage  hand  to  make  it 
effective,  and  as  originally  planned  by  the  'Bard'  would  have 
been  dull  and  difficult.  By  the  way,  I  should  be  much  gratified 
if  you  would  send  me  two  or  three  of  the  best-written  criticisms. 
I  can't  get  them  over  here.  I  am  surprised  that  the  'Buzz' 
song  made  such  a  success.  I  didn't  expect  it,  as  it  was  only  a 
bit  of  word  painting.  I  suppose  it  was  transposed  for  Miss 
Cheatham,  as  it  must  be  too  low  for  her  in  the  original  song.   .   .  . 

I  hope  to  be  back  in  England  in  a  fortnight  from  now,  so 
please  address  there,  not  here. 

With  my  kindest  remembrances  to  Miss  Rehan,  believe  me. 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

Arthur  Sullivan." 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  539 

The  interest  felt  in  England  is  shown  by  the  arrange- 
ments made  by  English  newspapers  for  cable  despatches. 
There  were  private  messages  as  well.  Mr.  Hallam  Tenny- 
son wrote  Mr.  Daly  on  July  lo  that  Lady  Martin  had 
sent  to  Lord  Tennyson  "a  charming  letter  from  Mr. 
Horace  Furness  about  the  play,  which  pleased  my  father 
greatly.  'That,'  he  says,  'is  exactly  what  I  feel  about 
it.'"  Brander  Matthews,  writing  to  Augustin  after  the 
first  night,  while  reserving  his  opinion  as  to  the  dramatic 
value  of  "The  Foresters,"  says: 

"But  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  beauty  and  the  ade- 
quacy of  the  interpretation  it  received  at  your  hands  ...  we 
were  both  especially  pleased  with  the  song  Miss  Rehan  sang 
in  the  first  act  and  with  the  very  artistic  simplicity  with  which 
she  sang  it." 

The  weeks  following  this  delightful  first  night  were 
enlivened  by  a  continued  flow  of  critical  appreciation 
and  by  the  illustrations  of  the  scenes  and  personages 
in  the  journals.  Harper's  and  Life  published  dainty 
sketches. 

Although  Tennyson  had  left  it  to  Daly's  discretion  to 
alter  the  play  for  representation,  he  nevertheless  scruti- 
nized the  changes  with  an  anxious  eye.  We  have  seen 
that  he  consented  to  the  transfer  of  the  Fairy  scene,  — 
the  most  poetic  and  spectacular  in  the  play,  —  from 
Rohin  Hood  to  Maid  Marian,  and  he  also  acquiesced  in 
the  transposition  of  it  from  the  end  of  the  second  act  to 
the  end  of  the  third.  The  curtailment  or  omission  of 
lines  was  assented  to  except  in  two  instances.  A  cable 
of  January  25  from  Hallam  Tennyson  read  : 

"Stage  copy  approved.     Insert  deer  speech." 
and  a  letter  from  him  followed  on  January  27  : 


540  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"The  two  fine  speeches  of  Marian  must  not  be  omitted  — 
that  about  'Strong  against  the  stream'  &  that  about  the  deer 
at  the  end.  The  public  would  blame  you  when  the  play  ap- 
pears." 

The  "deer  speech"  was  retained  by  Augustin,  and  will 
be  found  in  the  acting  copy  as  well  as  in  the  original.  It 
is  as  follows  : 

Marian 

.  .  .     Pity,  pity  !  —  There  was  a  man  of  ours 

Up  in  the  north,  a  goodly  fellow  too. 

He  met  a  stag  there,  on  so  narrow  a  ledge  — 

A  precipice  above  and  one  below  — 

There  was  no  room  to  advance  or  to  retire. 

The  man  lay  down  —  the  delicate-footed  creature 

Came  stepping  o'er  him  so  as  not  to  harm  him. 

The  hunter's  passion  flashed  into  the  man, 

He  drove  his  knife  into  the  heart  of  the  deer; 

The  deer  fell  dead  to  the  bottom,  and  the  man 

Fell  with  him,  and  was  crippled  ever  after. 

I  fear  I  had  small  pity  for  that  man. 

You  have  the  moneys  and  the  use  of  them, 

What  would  you  more  .^" 

The  stage  copy  when  it  came  back  from  Lord  Tennyson 
bore  a  marginal  note  in  pencil,  by  Hallam,  in  the  place 
where  the  lines  had  been  cut  out  by  Daly  : 

"Good  heavens!  Put  in  the  most  beautiful  speech  in  the 
play  for  Marian  about  the  deer." 

Other  details  besides  literary  ones  were  submitted  to 
the  author.  On  the  question  of  presenting  Marian  at 
the  last  in  bridal  dress,  or  robing  her  and  Robin  so  as  to 
emphasize  the  restoration  of  his  rank  and  title  by  Rich- 
ard, a  letter  of  January  27  contains  a  postscript : 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  541 

"The  earl  and  countess  robes  will  never  do  at  the  end  of  the 
play.  If  anything  is  wanted  my  father  says  that  Marian  might 
be  hastily  arrayed  in  bridal  white  with  veil,  or  the  crown  (pre- 
sented to  her  as  queen  of  the  woodland),  while  Robin  is  parley- 
ing with  the  Knight.  My  mother  is  now  flat  against  the  short 
kirtle  for  Marian,  but  we  think  that  a  short,  but  not  too  short, 
kirtle  in  one  scene  would  be  very  effective.  You  must  arrange 
all  these  points,  my  father  says." 

The  cast  was  as  follows  : 

Richard  Coeur  de  Lion Mr.  George  Clarke 

Prince  John John  Craig 

Robin  Hood,  Earl  of  Huntingdon     .     ,  John  Drew 

Sir  Richard  Lea Charles  Wheatleigh 

The  Abbot Thomas  Bridgland 

The  Sheriif  of  Nottingham      .     .     .     . '  Charles  Leclercq 

A  Justiciary William  Gilbert 

A  Mercenary Wilfred  Buckland 

Walter  Lea,  son  of  Sir  Richard    .     .     .  Ralph  Nisbet 

Little  John Herbert  Gresham 

Friar  Tuck Eugene  Jepson 

Will  Scarlet Hobart  Bosworth 

Old  Much Tyrone  Power 

Young  Scarlet Lloyd  Daubigny 

First  Friar William  Sampson 

First  Beggar George  Lesoir 

First  Retainer Power 

Kate,  attendant  on  Marian     ....  Miss  Kitty  Cheatham 

The  Old  Woman  of  the  Hut    ....  May  Sylvie 

Titania,  Queen  of  the  Fairies  ....  Percy  Haswell 

First  Fairy Miss  Massoni 

and 

Maid  Marian Miss  Ada  Rehan 

The  season  closed  on  the  anniversary  of  Shakespeare's 
birth,  with  a  revival  of  "As  You  Like  It,"  preceded  by 
"A  Woman's  Won't,"   so   that  all   the  favorites  of  the 


542  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Daly  company  might  appear  on  the  same  stage  for  the 
last  night. 

It  appears  that  my  brother  had  had  the  idea  of  open- 
ing this  season  with  some  sort  of  prologue,  and  that  his 
first  thought  was  of  his  friend  Eugene  Field,  who  fear- 
fully declined.  Field  proposed  a  substitute  in  one  of 
his  model  epistles,  which  resembled  a  leaf  out  of  a  fif- 
teenth century  manuscript,  with  the  initial  letter  in 
color  and  the  rivulet  of  text  flowing  through  a  meadow 
of  margin  : 

"Dear  Mr.  Daly:  I  never  wrote  a  prologue  in  all  my  life, 
and  I  have  not  the  courage  to  try  to  write  one.  I  would  to  God 
I  felt  differently  about  it,  for  I  should  like  to  be  of  service  to 
you.  Why  not  get  Andrew  Lang  to  do  the  work  ?  He  would 
do  it  in  scholarly  and  graceful  wise  and  cheap  too.  I  have  a 
letter  he  wrote  to  a  magazine  publisher  in  which  he  complains 
of  having  been  overpaid  for  a  certain  poem  !  Lang  lives  at  No. 
I  Marlowe  Road,  Kensington,  and  you  may  tell  him,  if  you  are 
pleased  to  write  to  or  call  upon  him,  that  I  am  hoping  that  he 
will  do  the  prologue.  Clement  Scott  might  answer  your  purpose, 
but  I  fancy  not.  /  think  his  poetry  is  simply  awful.  But  Lang 
is  just  scholarly  and  cranky  enough  to  suit  such  maniacs  as 
you  and  I  are.  You  see  I  take  an  interest  in  this  scheme  of 
yours  and  I  want  to  help  you  out  with  it.  With  sincere  regards 
Ever  Yours  cordially, 

Eugene  Field. 
Chicago,  July  the  24th,  1891." 


CHAPTER  XLII 

Sir  Edwin  Arnold,  F.  Hopkinson  Smith,  and  Thomas  Nelson  Page. 
Richard  Mansfield  and  Daly.  Mansfield  proposes  a  joint  enter- 
prise. Characteristic  letters.  Daly's  extra-illustrated  copy  of 
the  Bible  is  completed  in  forty-one  volumes.  English  and  American 
inlaying.  Mark  Twain  and  bath  tickets.  Mr.  Daly  asks  for  a 
play  from  Henry  James.  Letters  on  the  subject.  The  Players. 
Death  of  Florence.  Last  glimpse  of  Mrs.  Scott-Siddons.  Open- 
air  performance  at  Lake  Forest.  San  Francisco.  Last  appear- 
ance of  John  Drew  with  the  Daly  company. 

On  January  12,  1892,  Sir  Edwin  Arnold  began  a  course 
of  morning  lectures  and  readings  at  Daly's,  but  suffered 
so  from  grippe  that  he  had  to  break  off  with  the  third 
lecture.     On  the  loth  of  February,  1892,  he  wrote: 

x^        TV /r     T^  ,  "Feby.  10,  1892. 

Dear  Mr.  Daly,  ^        '      ^ 

Most  heartily  do  I  thank  you  for  your  kind  letter,  &  right 

gladly  wd.  I  accept  the  pleasant  invitation  it  extends  were  it 

not  that  my  doctor  still  commands  me  to  keep  indoors  as  much 

as  possible  so  as  to  gather  strength  for  the  long  journey  to 

Japan.     My  reading  on  Monday  will  be  an  effort,  inspired  by 

gratitude  and  regard  towards  all  my  kind  &  generous  friends  in 

America,  among  whom  you  have  shown  yourself  one  not  to  be 

forgotten.  ^^  ,  , 

Yours  always  truly, 

Edwin  Arnold." 

On  February  13  he  gave  his  final  reading  and  made  a 
farewell  speech,  saying,  "I  came  to  America  her  friend; 
I  go  away  her  champion,  her  servant,  her  lover." 

Readings  by  F.  Hopkinson  Smith  and  Thomas  Nelson 
Page    began    on    February    11.     A    letter   from   Thomas 

543 


544  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Nelson  Page  upon  his  return  to  Richmond  on  February 
25,  1892,  thanks  Mr.  Daly  for  the  gift  of  a  copy  of  "Wof- 
fington"  : 

"You  have  told  the  story  charmingly  and  there  could  not 
be  a  more  beautiful  monument  to  a  beautiful  and  accomplished 
woman.  I  tender  you  my  warm  congratulations  upon  the 
work,  and  I  shall  prize  my  copy  both  for  its  merit  and  because 
it  is  the  production  of  one  whom  I  admire  and  whose  friendship 
I  prize." 

On  September  12,  1892,  Richard  Mansfield  brought  his 
own  company  to  Daly's  with  a  dramatic  version  of  Haw- 
thorne's "Scarlet  Letter."  This  distinguished  and  erratic 
performer  rendered  the  stage  a  great  service,  not  only  by 
his  art,  but  by  his  outspoken  criticism  of  the  commercial- 
ism which  threatened  its  development.  He  had  enter- 
prise, daring,  discernment  of  the  public  taste,  and  convic- 
tions of  the  demands  of  art.  His  individual  impersonations 
were  unequal ;  but  in  almost  every  part  he  undertook,  he 
surpassed  expectation.  It  had  for  some  time  been  his 
desire  to  play  in  Daly's  Theatre,  and  he  first  proposed 
it  in  a  letter  to  his  friend  William  Winter,  written  on 
March  13,  1892  : 

"...  I  wish  now  to  ask  you  if  you  would  see  Mr.  Daly 
for  me  —  I  have  never  met  him  —  &  whether  you  would 
interest  yourself  in  a  project  I  have  been  for  some  time  re- 
volving in  my  mind  (that  is  if  the  project  seems  feasible  to  you). 
I  am  greatly  hampered  for  want  of  a  Theatre  &  at  the  same 
time  I  fear  to  load  myself  with  its  responsibilities,  when  I  have 
already  so  much  on  my  hands.  It  occurs  to  me  that  the  follow- 
ing arrangement  could  be  made.  That  Mr.  Daly  should  divide 
his  season  equally  between  Miss  Rehan  &  myself,  i.e.,  that  he 
should  produce,  for  a  part  of  the  season,  plays  in  which  Miss 
Rehan  would  be  prominent,  &  that  she  should  then   (greatly 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  545 

to  Mr.  Daly's  advantage)  visit  the  principal  cities  —  when  I 
would  come  in  &  produce,  in  conjunction  with  &  under  Mr. 
Daly's  management,  such  plays  as  we  might  mutually  agree 
upon  &  devise.  I  think  in  this  way  great  plays  could  be  done 
at  Mr.  Daly's  Theatre.  We  could  go  into  all  the  archaeology 
of  the  things  &  we  could  paint  &  dress  our  plays  as  they  have 
never  been  dressed  &  painted  before.  I  should  be  associated 
with  a  man  who  is  certainly  sincere  in  his  devotion  to  the  Arts. 
Of  course  Miss  Cameron  would  be  with  me  as  my  principal 
support  —  but  outside  of  that  Mr.  Daly's  forces  would  assist 
me  —  i.e.,  Mr.  Daly  would  have  a  sufficiently  large  army  to 
support  Miss  Rehan  &  myself  &  he  would  be  able  to  change  them 
about  in  accordance  with  the  exigencies  of  the  plays  produced. 
I  draw  very  large  houses  in  the  country  &  I  would  of  course 
give  Mr.  Daly  a  handsome  percentage  of  my  earnings  out  of 
the  metropolis. 

I  purpose  for  my  first  appearance  next  season  presenting  Ca- 
gliostro  —  a  theme  of  great  power  &  beauty.  I  propose  follow- 
ing this  with  —  certainly  —  'Mazarin'  &  perhaps  'Dean  Swift.' 

If  such  an  arrangement  as  I  propose  could  be  effected  with 
Mr  Daly  I  should  be  of  course  under  Mr.  Daly's  management, 
&  we  could  always  play  to  advanced  prices  in  the  country,  &  I 
think  Mr.  Daly  would  be  master  of  the  strongest,  the  two  most 
powerful  organizations  in  America. 

N.B.  I  may  add  that  I  am  urged  to  this  combination  with 
Mr.  Daly  very  largely  by  the  fact  that  upon  every  side  new 
Theatres  managed  by  speculators  only  are  springing  up,  & 
that  Mr.  Daly  is  the  only  man  in  this  Country  who  seems  to 
have  the  interests  of  Art  at  heart,  &  that  I  must  stand  shoulder 
to  shoulder  with  the  older  man." 

Mr.  Winter's  good  offices  were  employed  with  success. 

"4  West  28th  Street. 

, ,     _  ,  April  the  5th,  1892. 

My  dear  Mr.  Daly,  ^  ^     '      v 

Mr.  Winter  was  good  enough  to  forward  to  me  your  gracious 

invitation  to  luncheon,  which  I  was  forced   to  decline,   as  we 


546  THE  LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

meditated  giving  a  matinee  on  Wednesday,  but  now  I  have 
been  compelled  to  postpone  that  —  I  cannot  play  'Nero'  twice 
in  a  day.  So  if  you  are  still  of  a  mind  to  have  me,  I  shall  be 
glad  to  join  you.  Still  I  rarely  eat  at  that  hour,  &  I  drink  not 
at  all  during  the  day  and  a  quiet  chat  and  the  pleasure  of  meet- 
ing you  will  suffice  for  me. 

I  am  quiet  here,  if  you  would  honor  me  .'' 

Very  truly  yours, 

Richard  Mansfield." 

Mr.  Mansfield  developed  his  idea  more  fully  in  a  letter 
to  Mr.  Daly  dated  April  8  : 

"...  One  thing  is  very  distinct  in  my  mind  and  that  is 
the  impossibility  and  the  inadvisability  of  making  an  appear- 
ance here  otherwise  than  as  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude  —  I 
owe  that  much  to  the  managers  of  other  cities  who  render  me 
65,  70  &  80  per  cent  of  the  receipts.  Otherwise  I  am  glad  and 
happy  —  (more  happy  than  I  can  say)  to  make  any  arrange- 
ment whereby  I  should  gain  the  benefit  of  your  advice  and 
experience  &  your  admirable  management.  It  seems  to  me 
that  as  I  should  have  to  travel  with  the  production  in- 
stantly upon  the  termination  of  the  season  at  your  Theatre, 
I  should  be  supported  by  the  Company  that  has  played  with 
me  there.  It  seems  to  me  that  that  Company  should  be 
selected  &  engaged  by  you  —  and  that  they  should  be  under 
your  direction  —  of  course  the  Company  should  be  engaged 
with  a  view  to  its  ability  to  play  my  repertoire,  as  many 
cities  require  me  to  play  such  plays  of  mine  as  have  be- 
come popular,  &  in  very  many  cities  I  have  not  yet  appeared 
at  all.  I  think  /  should  like  :  Mr.  Richard  Mansfield  supported 
by  Mr.  Daly's  Company  and  under  the  management  of  Mr. 
Augustin  Daly. 

It  seems  to  me  that  with  my  strength  in  the  country  this 
combination  would  be  as  successful  as  the  late  Barrett  &  Booth 
arrangement  —  &  more  satisfactory  in  New  York  proper.  I  am 
satisfied  with  a  salary  —  or  any  arrangement  you  would  make. 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  547 

I  should  stipulate  that  Miss  Cameron  should  always  appear  in 
my  support  if  there  is  any  suitable  part. 

It's  a  great  pity  I  may  not  see  you.  I  do  not  think  letters  are 
satisfactory  —  there  is  so  much  to  be  said  pro  &  con.  I  leave 
to-morrow  at  4:30  from  Weehawken  —  If  you  would  be  very 
gracious  &  take  a  day  off .''  I  have  my  car  &  we  would  settle 
everything  &  chat  quietly  —  but  as  I  have  already  said  any 
arrangement  whereby  I  am  enabled  to  give  all  my  attention 
to  acting  &  which  does  not  lessen  my  position  but  which  must 
heighten  my  position,  is  satisfactory  to  me." 

"Los  Angeles,  May  20th,  1892. 
My  dear  Mr.  Daly, 

I  thank  you  for  your  letter  which  I  was  awaiting  with  im- 
patience. I  quite  comprehend  all  you  say  &  I  wish  with  all 
my  heart  that  it  could  be  otherwise.  I  would  very  gladly  give 
up  a  large  share  of  my  profits  to  be  with  such  a  master  as  you 
and  to  be  guided  and  directed  by  you.  But  I  cannot  sink  my 
identity  and  I  cannot  give  up  the  little  I  have  accomplished 
in  the  past  years  of  incessant  labor.  My  name  must  be  upon 
my  banner  as  the  actor;  —  the  management,  and  all  authority 
and  authorship  I  will  joyfully  relinquish.  I  am  exceedingly 
ambitious  &  I  confess  it  —  I  desire  to  produce  great  plays  and 
to  play  them  greatly  and  with  God's  aid  I  shall  accomplish 
this.  If  I  could  have  such  a  man  as  you  by  my  side  it  would 
be  accomplished  sooner.  I  have  no  Theatre,  I  have  no  work- 
shop —  I  have  little  or  no  management.  I  should  like  to 
acquire  the  management  and  the  workshop  &  I  should  like 
advice  and  guidance.  I  cannot  very  well  see  myself  always  — 
which  is  as  unfortunate  as  it  is  fortunate.  The  scheme  I  had 
in  mind  does  not  seem  to  meet  with  your  approval.  It  was 
simply  that  when  your  own  special  Company  was  away  from 
your  Theatre,  you  should  play  me  &  my  Company,  or  me  sup- 
ported by  a  company  of  yours.  But  failing  this,  I  shall  be  glad 
to  play  in  your  Theatre  &  I  shall  be  very  glad  &  very  grateful 
for  your  advice.  If  this  meets  with  your  approval  all  that 
remains  is  for  us  to  arrange  the  time  —  &  to  settle  on  the  play. 


548  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

If  for  the  latter  you  can  advise  me  or  if  you  can  supply  me  I 
should  indeed  be  glad.  I  had  almost  ventured  to  hope  that 
you  would  take  sufficient  interest  in  me  to  find  the  play  &  the 
Company,  and  whatever  terms  you  might  indicate  I  should 
be  most  happy  to  accept. 

My  books  are  always  open  to  you  and  you  will  see  that  I 
make  an  average  profit  (with  an  expense  of  $2200-$2300  a 
week)  of  from  $1000  to  $2000  a  week ;  my  responsibilities  in 
the  past  have  been  very  heavy  and  are  so  still  &  I  could  not 
therefore  afltord  to  do  less  well  than  I  have  been  &  am  doing. 

Please  believe  me  to  be,  dear  Mr.  Daly,  with  great  regard, 
always  yours  truly,  Kxch2.vd  Mansfield." 

"The  Mollis  St.  Theatre, 

AT      1        TVT     ivT       r  11  Boston,  May  31,  1892. 

My  dear  Mr.  Mansfield,  '        -^  J   '      ^ 

I  think  that  eventually  you  and  I  shall  agree  on  a  basis  of 
mutual  interest  which  will  be  entirely  satisfactory  to  both  of  us. 
I  do  not  want  to  submerge  your  individuality  or  personality  or 
fame  in  any  way  —  but  at  the  same  time  I  cannot  afford  to  be 
less  than  Commander  in  Chief  of  all  my  forces  from  the  highest 
officer  under  me  to  the  humblest.  Only  in  this  way  can  I  lead 
you  on  to  victory  —  the  victory  which  we  both  would  desire. 

Now  let  us  make  something  of  an  experiment. 

You  say  you  have  four  weeks  open  which  you  can  play  at  my 
theatre  from  Sept  5th.  Now  suppose  you  make  up  a  company 
of  your  own  to  play  during  that  period  ;  and  let  us  share  the 
receipts  equally.  I  will  furnish  you  the  theatre  and  all  attaches, 
lights,  stage  forces,  and  the  orchestra.  You  furnish  yourself 
&  the  performance.  I  have  a  play  which  I  think  would  serve 
as  a  sensation  for  part  of  the  time ;  it  is  Coquelin's  version  of 
'The  Taming  of  the  Shrew.'  I  have  his  copy  and  mise  en  scene, 
and  all  the  American  rights.  There  are  some  new  and  original 
effects  in  the  piece.  It  is  showy  in  the  extreme.  It  might 
require  one  new  scene  to  be  painted.  The  costumes  might  be 
hired.  The  piece  costs  me  5  per  cent,  of  the  Gross ;  if  you 
care  to  experiment  with  it  I  will  be  willing  to  halve  this  extra 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  549 

{i.e.  the  royalty)  with  you.  I  think  the  novelty  will  be  great. 
It  will  not  clash  with  my  version  and  the  cast  is  not  large. 
The  play  is  only  crudely  translated  as  yet;  but  I  suppose  I 
might  get  some  one  of  our  rising  dramatists  to  work  at  once. 
If  the  piece  makes  a  hit  and  you  wish  to  take  it  on  tour  I  shall 
charge  you  seven  per  cent  of  the  gross  receipts  whenever  and 
wherever  you  use  it,  for  one  year. 

My  suggestion  would  be  for  you  to  give  seven  performances 
each  week ;  and  to  open  with  Brummell  for  one  week ;  the 
next  week  to  do  'The  Shrew'  and  let  it  run  for  two  weeks  (or 
3  if  a  great  success)  or  during  the  last  week  do  other  plays. 
By  that  time  I  may  have  another  more  modern  play  to  try  you 
in.  I  have  one  in  mind  now.  It  is  Jerome's  version  of  Die 
Ehre,  which  he  calls  Birth  &  Breeding.  The  part  Possart 
played  might  suit  you. 

Now  if  you  like  I  will  send  you  both  of  these  plays  to  read. 
Then  you  can  telegraph  me  'terms  accepted'  and  write  your 
views ;  and  we  will  make  a  regular  contract  for  this  experi- 
mental engagement  —  with  the  option  of  others  to  follow. 

Sincerely, 

A.  Daly." 

"Portland,  Ore.,  Monday,  June  the  6th,  1892. 

My  dear  Mr.  Daly, 

I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter,  for  which  accept  my  best 
thanks  —  I  have  said  I  shall  be  delighted  to  play  with  you 
and  under  your  direction.  With  regard  to  M.  Coquelin's 
version  of  'The  Taming  of  the  Shrew.'  It  occurs  to  me  that 
it  would  be  quaint  to  play  a  Frenchman's  version  of  Shake- 
speare translated  back  into  English.  It  seems  to  me  'une  chose 
impossible.'  I  might  play  it  in  French  &  I  should  be  glad  to 
do  so  —  but  in  English  no  —  it  would  be  too  queer.  I  fear 
there  could  be  but  one  cry :  What  is  the  matter  with  Shake- 
speare .''  Then  too  who  could  play  'Katharina'  after  Miss 
Rehan  .''  Who  would?  I  fear  this  is  not  to  be  done  unless  — ■ 
as  I  have  said  —  I  did  it  in  French.  Jerome's  translation  of 
'Die  Ehre'  on  the  other  hand  seems  an  excellent  idea  &  one 


5 so  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

I  should  be  glad  to  entertain  if  after  reading  the  play  I  find  the 
character  I  should  have  to  present,  suitable  &  interesting  — 
which  since  you  think  it  so,  no  doubt  it  is.  (I  interject  a  little 
idea  here  —  some  day,  when  we  want  to  sweep  the  Country, 
let  us  play  '  The  Merchant  of  Venice '  —  Miss  Rehan  as  '  Portia ' 
&  for  me  'Shylock,'  with  an  ideal  Venice.  Lewis  as  Launcelot 
Gobbo,  etc.,  etc.) 

The  terms  you  mention  are  perfectly  satisfactory.  It  would 
be  in  my  opinion  —  &  I  speak  from  experience  —  idle  to  open 
with  Beau  Brummell  or  any  of  my  well-worn  plays  in  New 
York  —  we  need  more  than  a  success  d'estime  —  we  need 
money,  &  Beau  B.  will  not,  for  a  year  to  come,  draw  one  dollar 
in  New  York.  Nor  any  of  my  plays  excepting  Richard  III., 
&  of  that  I  have  no  longer  the  scenery. 

I  have  an  idea,  which  I  advance  with  considerable  hesitation 
&  which  has  been  in  my  mind  for  some  years  —  &  in  which, 
from  what  I  can  gather,  there  is  a  large  amount  of  money,  — 
but  it  will  in  its  execution  demand  an  enormous  amount  of  care 
&  thought,  some  literary  effort  &  some  money.  It  is  'Napoleon 
Bonaparte.'  I  should  call  the  play  simply  'Napoleon  Bona- 
parte,' &  I  should  deal  with  the  subject  from  the  period  of  his 
assumption  of  the  Imperial  purple  to  the  time  of  his  lonely 
death  on  the  Island  of  St.  Helena. 

I  wonder  if  you  would  help  me  with  this  ^  It  would  make  a 
great  popular  play  —  it  would  appeal  to  all  classes  and  all 
peoples.  I  should  make  Mme.  Recamier  the  heroine,  I  should 
introduce  the  beloved  Queen  Louise  of  Prussia,  Josephine,  & 
Marie  Louise  of  Austria.  I  beg  you  in  any  event  to  consider 
this  suggestion  absolutely  confidential,  &  it  is,  I  feel,  hardly 
necessary  for  me  to  say  this.  I  do  not  know  where  to  address 
this,  so  I  send  it  to  the  Hollis  Street  Theatre  in  the  hope  that 
it  may  reach  you. 

I  do  earnestly  hope  I  may  be  able  to  arrange  to  play  in  your 
house  —  but  it  has  to  be  swiftly  decided  as  others  are  waiting 
to  hear  from  me  with  regard  to  that  time  (in  September). 

Most  truly  yours, 
Richard  Mansfield." 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  551 

The  play  finally  chosen  was  a  dramatization  of 
"The  Scarlet  Letter"  by  Joseph  Hatton.  It  was  pro- 
duced at  Daly's  Theatre,  New  York,  on  September 
12,  1892. 

Daly's  library  was  enriched  this  year  by  his  "extra- 
illustrated  bible"  of  forty-one  volumes,  for  which  he  had 
collected  every  known  engraving  suitable  for  insertion 
in  a  folio  volume.  The  task  of  sorting  these  prints  and 
putting  them  in  order  for  the  binder  took  Henry  Black- 
well's  spare  time  for  two  years,  not  including  the  work  of 
inlaying  the  smaller  prints  and  mounting  every  sheet  of 
the  text  (two  copies  of  the  Douai  folio  being  used  in  the 
process),  which  was  executed  by  the  first  artists  in  that 
line  in  America.  Mr.  George  Trent,  one  of  the  experts, 
said  that  although  English  mechanical  work  as  a  rule  is 
excelled  by  none,  he  never  saw  one  of  their  inlaid  books 
even  decently  done. 

Some  interesting  ideas  for  plays  were  entertained  by 
my  brother  this  year.  Mark  Twain  had  once  written 
a  comedy  called  "Colonel  Sellers  as  a  Materialist,"  but 
when  its  prospects  as  a  play  proved  hopeless,  he  rewrote 
it  as  a  novel  under  the  name  of  "The  American  Claim- 
ant." In  its  dramatic  form  Twain  said  Mr.  A.  P.  Bur- 
bank  "made  two  attempts  to  make  it  go,  but  it  wouldn't." 
When  the  novel  appeared,  Daly,  curiously  enough, 
thought  it  good  material  to  dramatize,  and  wrote  Twain 
making  the  suggestion ;  the  author,  then  in  Bad  Nauheim 
for  the  cure,  wrote  on  August  13,  1892  : 

"You  bang  away  and  dramatize  the  book  your  way  &  that 
will  be  my  way.  .  .  .  These  are  mighty  good  baths,  &  if  you 
want  to  try  them  come  here  &  I  will  treat  to  bath  tickets." 

At  Mr.  Daly's  suggestion  Henry  James  this  year  wrote 
a  comedy  for  the  Daly  company  : 


552  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

"Hotel  Metropole, 

Brighton,  September  ist,  1892. 

My  dear  Mr.  Daly, 

I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  reading  my  play  —  as  to  which 
I  think  I  may  say  that  I  haven't  any  illusions  —  any  that 
prevent  my  understanding  that  you  shouldn't  be  'satisfied' 
with  it.  I  am  far  from  satisfied  myself,  but  as  the  thing  cost 
me,  originally,  a  good  deal  of  labour  &  ingenuity,  I  was  unable 
to  resist  the  desire  to  subject  it  to  some  sort  of  supreme  pro- 
bation. If  it  had  a  fault  of  which  I  was  very  conscious,  I 
thought  it  perhaps  had  other  qualities  which  would  make  it 
a  pity  that  I  shouldn't  give  it  a  chance  —  since  a  chance  so 
happily  presented  itself.  To  tell  the  truth,  now  that  I  have 
given  it  this  chance  my  conscience  is  more  at  rest,  &  I  feel  as  if 
my  responsibility  to  it  were  over.  Its  fault  is  probably  funda- 
mental &  consists  in  the  slenderness  of  the  main  motive  — 
which  I  have  tried  to  prop  up  with  details  that  don't  really 
support  it;  so  that  —  as  I  freely  recognize  —  there  is  a  lack 
of  action  vainly  dissimulated  by  a  superabundance  (especially 
in  the  last  act)  of  movement.  This  movement  cost  me  such 
pains  —  &  I  may  add  such  pleasure  !  — -  to  elaborate  that  I 
have  probably  exaggerated  its  dramatic  effect  —  exaggerated 
It  to  myself,  I  mean.  The  thing  has  been  my  first  attempt  at  a 
comedy,  pure  &  simple,  &  as  1st  attempts  are,  in  general,  mainly 
useful  as  lessons,  I  am  willing  to  let  it  go  for  that.  At  any  rate 
I  am  far  from  regarding  it  as  my  necessary  last  word.  You 
will  wonder  perhaps  that  as  I  defend  Mrs.  Jasper  so  feebly  I 
could  still  care  to  talk  with  you  about  her.  But  this  will  give 
me  pleasure,  all  the  same,  &  I  shall  avail  myself  of  your  leave 
to  do  so.  I  am  spending  a  few  days  at  this  place,  but  I  shall 
be  in  London  to-morrow,  Friday,  &  if  I  hear  nothing  from  you, 
here,  to  the  contrary,  will  call  on  you  at  (say)  three  o'clock. 
I  can't  forego  any  opportunity  of  seeing  a  manager!  Believe 
me 

Yours  very  truly 

Henry  James." 


THE   LIFE    OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  553 

"September  8th,  1892. 

34  De  Vere  Gardens,  W. 
Dear  Mr.  Daly, 

I  am  moved  to  let  you  know,  as  it  may,  before  you  sail,  be 
a  convenience  to  you,  that  these  last  days  have  enabled  me  to 
judge  that  I  shall  be  able,  at  no  very  distant  date,  to  send  you 
a  'Mrs,  Jasper'  materially  reconstructed  and  improved  — 
purged  at  any  rate  of  the  worst  of  her  errors.  I  have  been 
taking  the  problem  seriously  in  hand  and  I  think  light  has 
broken  upon  me.  I  shall  despatch  you  the  part,  at  least,  very 
considerably  ameliorated  —  &  shall  probably  be  able  to  let 
you  have  the  whole  thing  by  the  last  of  October.  I  have  it 
at  heart  to  mention  this  by  way  of  farewell  —  for  a  very  limited 
time,  I  hope,  —  to  Miss  Rehan.  Will  you  very  kindly  convey 
this  friendly  goodbye  to  her  &  believe  me,  with  the  best  wishes 
for  your  homeward  journey  — 

Yours  very  truly, 

Henry  James." 

The  production  of  the  play  was  postponed  for  a  year 
with  the  intention  of  putting  it  in  rehearsal  for  Daly's 
new  theatre  in  London.  As  the  time  approached  the 
solicitude  of  the  manager  led  him  to  propose  further 
revision,  and  the  author  wrote  (November  6,  1893)  : 

"I  have  given  very  earnest  consideration  to  the  text  of  my 
play,  but  with  an  utter  failure  to  discover  anything  that  can 
come  out  without  injury.  It  was  in  the  extremity  of  my  effort 
at  concision  and  rapidity  during  my  writing  of  it  as  it  now 
stands  that  I  took  out  &  kept  out  everything  that  was  not  in- 
tensely brief  —  &  this  effort  seems  to  me  to  have  left  nothing 
behind  to  sacrifice  —  nothing  that  can  be  sacrificed  without 
detriment  to  elementary  clearness  —  to  the  rigid  logic  of  the 
action  &  the  successive  definite  steps  of  the  story.  The  few 
eliminations  are,  in  short,  the  only  ones  that  are  in  the  least 
practicable  —  every  line  being  in  such  close  relation  to  every 
other  line  and  to  the  total.     Moreover,  as  it  stands,  the  thing 


554  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

appears  to  me  to  go  —  as  if  at  least  it  ought  to  go  —  with  re- 
markable brightness  and  quickness.  If  the  public  don't  feel 
in  it  the  maximum  of  that  quality  the  public  will  —  I  can't 
help  thinking — be  a  bigger  ass  than  usual!  If  later,  when 
we  can  talk  of  it  —  you  are  moved  to  show  me  any  definite 
place  where  anything  can  be,  to  your  sense,  spared,  I  shall  of 
course  be  very  happy  to  consider  it.  I  don't  think  we  need 
have  any  fear  in  respect  to  the  duration  of  the  ist  &  2d  acts, 
considering  what  they  are  &  what  the  interpretation  will  make 
them.  I  noted  a  couple  of  nights  ago,  with  what  serenity  the 
audience  at  The  Garrick  accepted  the  55  minutes  apiece  of 
each  of  the  two  first  acts  of  Diplomacy  &  I  don't  fear  to  declare 
that  our  play  is  very  fundamentally  brisker!  I  shall  keep 
myself  wholly  open  to  impressions  at  rehearsal  &  be  only  too 
eager  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  text  in  the  light  of  that  test.  I 
enclose  a  paper  on  which  I  have  indited  as  many  possible  titles 
as  I  can  think  of  —  good,  bad  and  indifferent.  ..." 

The  discussion  of  titles  (to  supersede  "Mrs.  Jasper") 
was  thorough,  and  the  list  enclosed  by  Mr.  James  was  of 
more  than  fifty  names  suggested  by  the  leading  points  of 
the  play.  The  result  of  all  this  care  on  the  part  of  author 
and  manager  was  disappointing.  The  piece  was  put  in 
rehearsal  and  scenery  purchased  ;  but  Augustin  lost  faith 
in  "Mrs.  Jasper,"  and  the  attempt  to  bring  it  out  was 
therefore  given  up.  It  will  be  found  in  Mr.  James' 
collections  of  plays  published  in  London  in  1894  and 
reviewed  in  the  papers  of  June  of  that  year. 

Augustin  was  reelected  vice-president  of  The  Players 
on  May  i,  1892.  Brander  Matthews  was  taken  on  the 
Board  of  Directors  to  succeed  William  J.  Florence,  whose 
death  had  occurred  in  the  previous  November.  Flor- 
ence was  a  great  loss  to  the  stage.  The  genial  fire  which 
had  burned  so  brightly  and  so  long  in  the  soul  of  John 
Brougham  seemed  to  have  been  rekindled  in  Florence, 
and  the  unselfishness  of  both  men  equalled  their  dramatic 


THE   LIFE   OF    AUGUSTIN    DALY  555 

gifts.  The  notes  In  my  brother's  box-office  book  tell 
of  many  other  deaths.  James  Roberts,  his  first  scenic 
artist,  "the  finest  all-round  painter  in  America,"  as  Daly 
wrote  of  him,  died  on  March  21.  It  was  he  who  had 
painted  the  exquisite  scenery  of  "Play"  for  the  opening 
of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre.  There  is  a  note  of  my 
brother's  to  me  on  November  20,  1891,  telling  of  the 
burial  of  Michael  Hall,  "chief  ticket-taker  of  all  the  Daly 
Theatres  from  1869.  Honest,  faithful,  loyal,  &  a  good 
man."  Old  John  Moore  was  at  this  time  lamenting 
through  a  long  illness  because  he  could  do  nothing  to 
earn  the  salary  as  stage-manager  that  was  regularly  sent 
to  him.  He  wrote  to  Dorney  that  he  had  tried  to  get 
down  to  the  theatre  to  show  himself,  at  least,  but  had 
failed. 

Daly  begged  off  from  a  proposed  dinner  in  his  honor 
at  the  Lotos  Club,  but  readily  joined  in  a  supper  to  Charles 
Gaylor,  "the  senior  American  dramatist,"  given  by 
Bronson  Howard. 

A  letter  from  a  lady  who  at  one  time  was  a  bewitching 
figure  on  the  stage,  Mrs.  Scott-Siddons,  regrets  that, 
after  calling  to  attempt  "to  thank  you  personally  for 
your  loveliness  to  me,"  she  has  to  send  only  these  lines 
in  acknowledgment.  She  was  giving  readings  from 
Shakespeare  and  modern  authors  this  year,  but  had  met 
with  great  disappointment. 

While  on  tour  in  Chicago,  the  company  played  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Children's  Home  of  the  Columbian  Exhi- 
bition, and  at  the  invitation  of  the  Board  of  Lady  Man- 
agers gave  an  open-air  performance  of  "As  You  Like 
It"  in  the  grounds  of  ex-Senator  Farwell,  Fairlawn,  Lake 
Forest.  The  scene  was  a  grassy  lawn  and  a  semi-circle 
of  giant  oaks  on  a  bluff  eighty  feet  above  the  level  of 
Lake  Michigan. 


556  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

The  tour  closed  in  San  Francisco  (Stockwell's  Theatre, 
Powell  Street)  on  July  30,  1892,  with  "A  Night  Off." 
This  was  the  last  performance  of  John  Drew  with  the 
company.  He  had  been  all  together  sixteen  years  with 
Daly  and  thirteen  seasons  with  the  present  famous  organ- 
ization, and  would  have  been  willing  to  remain  longer  if 
the  terms  which  he  had  proposed  the  previous  season 
had  been  agreed  to.  They  would  have  been  reasonable 
enough  for  a  star,  but  they  were  not  conformable  to  the 
expense  of  such  a  costly  company  as  Daly's.  Mr.  Drew 
then  accepted  an  offer  from  Mr.  Frohman  for  a  starring 
tour  to  begin  in  the  fall  of  1892.  It  was  inevitable  that, 
as  each  member  of  the  company  trained  by  Mr.  Daly 
grew  in  popularity,  the  temptation  to  acquire  him  or  her 
should  be  felt  by  other  managers.  Actors,  too,  naturally 
feel  bound  to  make  the  most  of  their  opportunities. 
Drew  acted  in  an  entirely  straightforward  way,  and  Daly 
had  been  fully  prepared  for  his  departure;  but  his  regret 
was  keen  at  this  change  in  a  company  which  he  had  kept 
together  for  a  very  long  time.  Fie  was  not  reconciled 
even  by  the  handsome  tribute  paid  to  him  by  Mr.  Drew 
on  his  first  appearance  under  the  new  management  at 
Palmer's  Theatre,  on  October  3,  1892.  Being  called 
before  the  curtain,  Mr.  Drew,  after  thanking  the  audi- 
ence which,  he  said,  showed  itself  composed  of  kind 
friends  rather  than  of  spectators,  continued  : 

"But  I  feel  that  all  these  plaudits  and  this  great  greeting 
might  not  have  been  for  me  had  it  not  been  for  one  who  taught 
me  how  to  merit  and  deserve  it  —  who  from  the  beginning  of 
my  career  has  watched  and  guided  my  steps,  smoothing  the 
way  to  success  for  me  and  encouraging  me  in  moments  of  trial 
and  discouragement,  and,  in  fine,  striving  to  make  me  worthy 
of  this  honor  tonight.  I  feel  too  that  this  poor  and  halting 
tribute  of  the  heart  is  little  to  offer  for  the  years  of  care  and 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  557 

trouble  he  has  bestowed  on  me,  but  it  is  from  the  heart  and  I 
wish  to  offer  it.  I  am  glad  too  to  offer  it  before  you  —  his 
friends  as  well  as  mine.  I  see  I  need  not  name  him  —  my 
friend  and  preceptor,  Mr.  Augustin  Daly." 

This  speech,  which  was  in  excellent  taste  and  wholly 
unexpected,  was  vehemently  applauded ;  and  many  who 
had  felt  that  they  could  never  forgive  the  breach  made  in 
a  company  which  had  come  to  be  looked  upon  almost  as 
a  family,  were  softened  by  it.  Mr.  Drew  entered  that 
night  upon  a  career  of  prosperity  which  added  to  his 
development  as  a  dramatic  artist  in  the  line  of  modern 
comedy.  As  a  polished  exponent  of  modern  roles,  Drew 
was  excellent,  and  invariably  popular  and  attractive; 
but  it  was  more  than  twenty  years  (1913)  before  he  was 
afforded  the  opportunity  to  return  to  old  comedy,  in 
which,  under  the  Daly  management,  he  had  been  so 
prominent  and  graceful  a  figure. 


EIGHTH    PERIOD:    1893-1899 


CHAPTER  XLIII 

Season  of  1892-1893.  "Little  Miss  Million."  Arthur  Bourchier 
succeeds  John  Drew.  Death  of  Tennyson.  Chicago  World's 
Fair.  Montana  and  the  silver  statue  of  Miss  Rehan.  Remark- 
able revival  of  "The  Hunchback."  Miss  Rehan's  great  perform- 
ance. Madame  Eleanora  Duse.  "As  You  Like  It."  "The 
Belle's  Stratagem."  Miss  Clothilde  Graves  and  "The  Knave." 
Death  of  Fanny  Kemble.  Charity  benefits.  "The  School  for 
Scandal."  "The  Foresters"  with  Bourchier  as  Robin  Hood. 
Varieties  of  audiences.  "The  Taming  of  the  Shrew."  "Twelfth 
Night."  Letter  of  John  Hay.  Miss  Rehan  and  F.  Marion  Craw- 
ford. Opening  of  Daly's  Theatre,  London.  Delays  overcome. 
The  first  night.  Financial  strain.  Another  'warning.'  Death 
of  Edwin  Booth.  "The  Hunchback"  put  on  and  fails  to  draw. 
Daly's  letters  describe  experiences  of  this  trying  season.  "Love 
in  Tandem"  tried.  Miss  Rehan  and  her  bungalow.  "Dollars 
and  Sense."  Nothing  draws  the  public.  "The  Foresters." 
Sullivan  personally  rehearses  the  music.  It  is  produced,  and  dis- 
appoints expectation  except  in  the  artistic  sense.  A  reason  for 
the  indifference.  Burnand's  "Orient  Express"  from  the  German 
another  failure.  "The  School  for  Scandal"  put  on.  Dark  days 
follow  repeated  failures.  Friendships.  At  last  the  tide  turns. 
"Twelfth  Night"  captures  London.  A  hundred  performances. 
Comparison  with  Irving,  who  failed  with  the  same  play.  Mrs. 
John  Wood  and  modern  plays.  Letter  from  Furness.  Joyous 
close  of  the  season.     Daly's  Theatre,  London,  firmly  established. 

After  a  holiday  abroad,  in  the  course  of  which  a  visit 
was  paid  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daly  and  Miss  Rehan  to  Lord 
Tennyson  at  Aldworth,  Mr.  Daly  returned  home  to  ar- 
range what  turned  out  to  be  a  season  of  jubilant  success. 
Before  oflFering  certain  important  revivals  which  he  had 
in  mind,  two  original  comedies  from  the  German  intro- 
duced a  new  leading  man,  Mr.  Arthur  Bourchier,  whose 
experience  before  he  came  to  Mr.  Daly  was  gained  in  the 

S6i 


562  THE  LIFE  OF   AUGUSTIN   DALY 

companies  of  Mrs.  Langtry  and  Wyndham.  His  acting 
was  found  by  the  critics  to  be  in  entire  accord  with  the 
spirit  of  the  Daly  company  and  to  be  distinguished  by 
simpHcity  and  good  taste.  The  opening  play  was  "Little 
Miss  Million,"  from  Oskar  Blumenthal's  "Das  Zweite 
Gesicht."     It  was  played  with  great  spirit. 

On  the  date  of  the  production  of  the  new  play  came 
the  press  despatches  announcing  the  death  of  Tennyson. 
It  deeply  affected  my  brother,  who  had  been  so  recently 
welcomed  to  the  Laureate's  home. 

The  city  now  began  to  swarm  with  crowds  on  their 
way  to  the  Columbian  Exposition  in  Chicago.  The 
managers  of  the  Montana  Section  intended  to  grace  it 
by  a  statue  of  Justice,  of  heroic  size,  in  silver,  for  which 
Miss  Rehan  was  to  be  the  model.  Her  photographs  were 
taken  for  the  purpose  at  this  time  and  despatched  to  the 
sculptor,  Mr.  R.  M.  Park. 

"Dollars  and  Sense"  succeeded  "Little  Miss  Million," 
with  Gresham  In  Drew's  old  part.  On  November  10,  "A 
Test  Case"  was  brought  out.  This,  adapted  from  Blu- 
menthal  and  Kadelburg's  "Grosstadtluft,"  was  pure 
farce,  but  much  more  to  the  popular  taste  than  "Little 
Miss  Million." 

"The  Hunchback,"  announced  for  November  29, 
and  once  a  favorite  star  piece,  had  for  some  years  faded 
out  of  fashion.  Yet  the  actress  who  created  the  part  of 
Julia  and  played  it  to  the  author's  Master  Walter  on  its 
first  production  at  Covent  Garden  in  1832  —  Fanny 
Kemble  —  was  still  living,  and  there  were  New  Yorkers 
who  might  have  seen  its  first  American  performance. 
Miss  Rehan  was  Julia,  Miss  Irving  Helen,  Bourchier 
Clifford,  George  Clarke  Master  Walter,  Creston  Clarke 
Modus,  James  K.  Hackett  Wilford,  Herbert  Tinsel, 
Bridgland    Hartwell,   Bosworth    Thomas,    and    Buckland 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  563 

Stephen.  The  effect  of  the  performance  was  magical. 
In  the  character  of  Julia  Miss  Rehan  attained  a  height 
of  passionate  power  not  reached  in  any  of  her  previous 
efforts.  The  press  was  enthusiastic.  The  power,  beauty, 
and  delicacy  of  her  performance,  its  archness,  pathos, 
disdain,  scorn,  and  fire  were  the  general  theme.  All  the 
cast  rose  to  their  highest  level.  George  Clarke's  Master 
Walter  was  found  to  be  admirable,  dignified,  romantic 
and  full  of  feeling.  Bourchier's  Clifford  was  polished, 
convincing,  spirited,  and  gallant.  The  humor  of  Modus 
and  Helen  was  fresh  and  unconventional.  The  Fathom 
of  Gilbert,  on  the  other  hand,  was  cast  in  the  most  con- 
ventional mould,  for  the  archaic  humor  of  this  part  will 
as  soon  move  from  its  traditions  as  the  stars  from  their 
spheres. 

Many  were  the  friendly  words  that  came  to  Julia  and 
her  manager,  in  addition  to  the  columns  of  journalistic 
praise.  John  Drew,  then  playing  in  another  theatre,  came 
to  the  first  Wednesday  matinee  and  frankly  wrote  to  Miss 
Rehan  that  he  only  now  fully  appreciated  her  art. 

No  appreciation  ever  touched  my  brother  so  much  as 
that  of  artists  who  knew  the  labor  that  goes  with  inspi- 
ration in  such  work  as  his.  Eleanora  Duse  was  to  make 
her  American  debut  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  this 
winter.  Her  visits  to  Daly's  were  frequent  during  the 
whole  season,  and  as  he  wrote  me,  she  was  "in  raptures 
over  everything,  especially  Miss  Rehan." 

The  throngs  that  attended  the  representations  were 
immense.  The  piece  had  been  announced  for  one  week, 
like  all  the  revivals,  but  it  had  to  be  kept  on  for  four. 
Then  the  programme  as  published  was  resumed  with 
'*As  You  Like  It,"  in  which  Mr.  Bourchier  played  Orlando, 
Lloyd  Daubigny  sang  as  Amiens,  and  Miss  Lotta  Lynne 
made  her  debut  as  Hymen. 


564  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"The  Belle's  Stratagem,"  the  second  in  the  old  comedy- 
series  this  season,  was  produced  on  January  3,  1893, 
It  is  the  only  one  of  Mrs.  Hannah  Cowley's  dozen  comedies 
that  lives,  and,  with  much  greater  works,  those  of  Sheri- 
dan and  Goldsmith,  has  survived  the  eighteenth  century. 
New  spirit  was  infused  into  the  performance  by  Miss 
Rehan  as  Letitia,  Bourchier  as  Doricourt,  Miss  Prince  as 
Mrs.  Rackett,  Miss  Lynne  as  Miss  Ogle,  Gresham  as 
Flutter,  Herbert  as  Saville,  Craig  as  Courtall,  and  Lewis 
as  Old  Hardy. 

Presented  with  "The  Belle's  Stratagem"  was  a  fantasy 
in  one  act  called  "The  Knave,"  by  Miss  Clothilde  Graves. 

During  the  revival  of  "The  Hunchback,"  Fanny 
Kemble  died.  She  was  eighty-three  years  old  (January 
16,  1893)  and,  as  I  said,  the  original  Julia  of  sixty  years 
before.  In  varied  accomplishments  (she  published  some 
five  works,  including  "Poems"  and  "Life  on  a  Georgia 
Plantation"),  she  was  a  most  remarkable  woman.  John 
Moore  also  died  this  year  at  seventy-nine ;  he  had  been 
with  Daly  twenty-three  years,  as  stage  manager  and 
prompter,  and  occasionally  as  performer  of  some  minor 
part  in  a  Shakespearian  bill. 

Many  charity  benefits  were  given  during  the  season. 

After  "The  School  for  Scandal,"  revived  on  January 
18,  "The  Foresters"  again  appeared  on  January  24, 
with  Bourchier  as  Robin  Hood.  Immense  throngs  again 
came  to  the  play,  but  Augustin  noted  on  one  occasion 
that  the  audience  was  "frigid."  Audiences  difi"er 
strangely  in  emotion,  and  it  is  another  of  the  mysteries 
of  the  theatre  that  people  of  one  mind  —  enthusiastic  or 
stolid  —  come,  as  if  by  appointment,  on  the  same  night. 
There  is  no  such  grouping,  however,  at  matinees.  Women 
and  young  girls  usually  only  come  to  what  they  know  they 
will  like,  and  they  show  that  they  like  it. 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  565 

"The  Taming  of  the  Shrew"  followed  "The  Foresters" 
on  February  7.  Petruchio  was  now  played  for  the  first 
time  at  Daly's  by  George  Clarke,  in  a  finished  and  ro- 
mantic manner.  Augustin  recorded,  "Play  seems  never 
to  have  been  liked  so  well." 

On  February  21,  "Twelfth  Night"  was  announced  as 
the  last  "revival"  of  the  year.  This  was  a  modest  adver- 
tisement of  a  production  that  was  to  take  rank  with  the 
finest  achievements  of  the  American  stage,  and  to  be  the 
admiration  of  London  as  well  as  of  New  York.  Augus- 
tin recorded  on  that  first  night  that  the  performance 
"created  almost  a  sensation  In  the  audience."  This 
letter  from  John  Hay  is  more  or  less  a  summary  of  public 
and  private  opinion   regarding  it : 

"  800  Sixteenth  Street,  Lafayette  Square, 

Washington,  D.  C  March  29th,  1893. 
Dear  Mr.  Daly, 

I  hope  I  am  not  intruding  too  far  upon  the  privilege  of  an 
acquaintance  which  was  of  the  slightest  and  which  may  have 
been  forgotten  by  you,  to  write  you  a  word,  not  only  of  con- 
gratulation but  of  personal  gratitude  on  your  splendid  success 
in  'Twelfth  Night'  ...  I  felt  that  I  must  write  and  thank 
you  personally  for  the  pleasure  you  have  given  us.  It  is  hard 
to  estimate  the  good  you  are  doing  In  putting  before  the  public 
such  a  magnificent  result  of  combined  Industry,  liberality, 
intelligence  and  taste.  Your  'Twelfth  Night'  is  saturated 
with  beauty  and  poetry;  the  most  enchanting  dreams  of  fairy- 
land are  there,  Incarnate  before  our  eyes.  I  hardly  see  how 
scenic  art  can  go  further.   .   .   ." 

The  cast  was  as  follows  :  Orsino,  Creston  Clarke ; 
Sebastian,  Sidney  Herbert;  Antonio,  Charles  Wheatleigh; 
A  Sea  Captain,  Eugene  Jepson ;  Valentine,  James  K. 
Hackett;  Curio,  Wilfred  Buckland  ;  Sir  Toby  Belch,  James 
Lewis  ;  Fabian,  William  Gilbert;  Clown,  Lloyd  Daubigny  ; 


S66  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

Sir  Andrew  Aguecheek,  Herbert  Gresham ;  Malvolio, 
George  Clarke ;  Captain,  John  Craig ;  Officer,  Rankin 
Duval ;  Priest,  Thomas  Bridgland ;  Olivia,  Adelaide 
Prince  ;  Maria,  Catharine  Lewis  ;  Viola,  Ada  Rehan. 

The  last  night  of  the  season  was  to  be  a  leave-taking 
of  the  company  for  more  than  a  year,  during  which  they 
were  to  inaugurate  the  new  Daly's  Theatre  in  London. 
In  Mr.  Daly's  parting  address  he  spoke  of  a  prospect  of 
plays  by  Henry  James  and  Marion  Crawford.  He  was 
still  anxious  to  use  one  of  Mr.  Howell's  comedies,  con- 
cerning which  the  author  wrote  (January  ii,  1893)  : 

"I  have  written  a  great  many  of  them  since  you  underlined 
the  first  so  long  ago,  and  they  have  had  great  acceptance  all 
over  the  country  among  amateurs,  without  ever  getting  upon 
the  stage.  I  do  not  say  it  is  not  their  fault,  but  The  Mouse- 
trap seems  like  something  that  might  please  the  larger  and 
severer  public  that  pays  for  its  pleasure." 

Apropos  of  Crawford's  play,  the  editor  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Press  relates  a  dinner  conversation  between  Ada 
Rehan  and  the  novelist.  Crawford  contended  for  the 
supremacy  of  the  author  over  the  actor.  After  remark- 
ing that  America  had  produced  no  great  novelist,  although 
Hawthorne  "stood  on  the  threshold  of  immortality," 
he  asked  Miss  Rehan  whether  she  could  play  her  best 
before  an  undemonstrative  audience,  or  whether  she 
needed  applause.  She  replied  "Applause!  We  must 
have  it.  No  matter  how  devoted  to  art  an  actress  may 
be,  without  applause  or  without  the  quiet  sympathy 
which  is  felt  but  not  always  heard,  we  collapse !  I 
could  not  play  my  best  without  feeling  that  my  audience 
was  with  me."  "That  shows,"  said  Crawford,  "how 
temporary  the  stage  is.  Hawthorne  could  write  the 
greatest  novel  and  wait  twenty  years  patiently  before  he 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  567 

saw  it  recognized  and  applauded,"  It  may  or  may  not 
be  material  to  inquire  how  Hawthorne  would  have  felt 
if  he  had  read  a  story  to  an  undemonstrative  assemblage. 
Besides,  the  author  writes  for  posterity.  The  actor  lives 
and  dies  in  the  present. 

The  opening  of  the  new  London  Theatre  was  announced 
for  June,  1893,  the  contract  with  Mr.  Edwardes  having 
called  for  its  completion  by  Lady  Day,  March  25  ;  but 
there  had  been  a  strike  of  bricklayers  throughout  the 
United  Kingdom  in  the  previous  year  (settled,  it  is  inter- 
esting to  note,  by  conceding  a  nine-hour  day,  a  Saturday 
half-holiday,  and  a  half-penny  an  hour  increase  in  wages), 
and  when  Mr.  Daly  arrived  on  May  13,  he  found  hardly 
more  than  four  bare  walls  and  a  roof.  Architect  and 
contractors  informed  him  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
have  the  theatre  ready  by  the  time  promised.  Upon 
hearing  their  opinion  he  camped  on  the  spot,  established 
his  office  in  the  builder's  shack  on  the  street,  and,  as  one 
paper  said,  "haunted  the  place  day  and  night,  brought  in 
double  shifts  of  workmen,  and  spurred  everybody  along 
at  a  most  un-British  rate  of  speed."  On  June  27  the 
opening  took  place.  The  auditorium  was  in  dark  red, 
relieved  by  gold  ornaments  on  a  ground  of  silver,  the 
woodwork  of  mahogany  inlaid  with  colored  woods,  and 
the  curtains  and  hangings  of  crimson  damask. 

Irving  wrote  "Welcome,"  and  on  the  opening  night 
sent  "Salutation  and  greeting!"  The  new  Lord  Tenny- 
son telegraphed  "All  best  wishes."  There  was  a  superb 
audience  when  the  curtain  rose,  including  Ambassador 
Thomas  F.  Bayard  and  his  family,  the  Marquis  and 
Marchioness  of  Salisbury,  Mr.  W.  W.  Astor  and  Mrs. 
Astor,  Mr.  Mackay,  Baron  Rothschild,  Sir  Arthur  Sulli- 
van, Henry  James,  Mr.  Thomas  Hardy,  and  Percy 
Fitzgerald. 


568  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

The  company  engaged  for  Daly's  London  Theatre  was 
immense.  There  were  sixty-one  principals  and  nine- 
teen in  the  chorus,  as  we  learn  from  the  "directory"  of 
names  and  addresses  posted  in  the  prompter's  office. 
"The  Taming  of  the  Shrew"  was  the  opening  piece,  and 
was  welcomed  "with  a  passion  of  enthusiasm."  Percy 
Fitzgerald  wrote  to  Mr.  Daly:  "It  was  wonderful! 
We  have  nothing  like  it." 

Notwithstanding  so  auspicious  an  opening,  Daly  was 
this  year  to  face  great  disappointment  and  distress.  The 
successes  of  less  than  two  years  before  seemed  now  to 
count  almost  for  nothing.  It  was  hard  for  one  thing  to 
get  the  Lyceum  public  to  go  anywhere  else.  Daly's 
new  theatre  had  no  public;  it  had  to  make  one  for  itself, 
and  the  process  was  bound  to  be  slow.  The  adventurous 
manager  was  like  Cortez  in  Mexico,  only  with  more  than 
one  melancholy  night  before  him.  He  had  had  previ- 
sions. Before  the  opening  he  wrote  to  me  of  certain 
omens  : 

"You  remember,  when  I  opened  the  Grand  Opera  House, 
the  first  day  I  occupied  my  office  there  I  found  a  leaf  from  the 
bible  blown  in  through  an  open  window  &  lying  on  my  desk,  & 
reading  it  over  I  was  quite  struck  with  the  last  verses  of  that 
leaf.  They  were  in  Luke  XIV,  verses  28,  29,  30.^  Now  on 
my  Shakespeare  calendar  I  found  on  May  6th,  the  date  of  my 
departure  to  build  up  this  new  Tower  in  which  I  am  now  en- 
gaged, this  verse  —  'Wisely  and  slow!  They  stumble  that 
run  fast.'  It  is  from  Romeo  and  Juliet.  And  on  the  date  of 
my  arrival  in  England  &  London,  May  13th,  this  quotation: 
'It  is  the  bright  day  which  brings  forth  the  adder  and  that 

1  28.  For  which  of  you  having  a  mind  to  build  a  tower  doth  not  first  sit 
down  and  reckon  the  charges  that  are  necessary  whether  he  have  wherewithal 
to  finish  it.  29.  Lest  after  he  hath  laid  the  foundation  and  is  not  able  to 
finish  it,  all  that  see  him  begin  to  mock.  him.  30.  Saying,  This  man  began 
to  build  and  was  not  able  to  finish. 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  569 

craves    wary    walking';    from   Julius    Cesar.     Both    wise    and 
timely  warnings,  don't  you  think  so?" 

After  the  opening,  news  came  of  the  death  of  Edwin 
Booth  on  June  7  at  The  Players. 

On  July  II  "The  Hunchback"  was  brought  out  at  the 
new  theatre,  and  the  Londoners,  like  the  New  Yorkers, 
were  enraptured  with  Miss  Rehan's  Julia.  Some  critics, 
however,  could  not  restrain  their  indignation  at  the  at- 
tempt to  resuscitate  so  antiquated  a  play,  though  it  was 
conceded  that  new  life  had  been  breathed  into  it,  and  one 
reviewer  declared  that  Miss  Rehan  delivered  "its  foolish 
speeches  with  such  purity  of  enunciation,  such  a  rich 
variety  of  utterance  and  modulation  that  she  charmed  as 
a  great  singer  charms."  Nevertheless,  it  was  declared 
that  producing  such  a  play  was  "one  of  the  insoluble 
mysteries  of  management."  But  the  manager  shall  give 
his  own  account  of  his  experiences  : 

"Well  —  the  Hunchback  is  out  and  on.  You  ask  me  how  it 
goes.  I  can  scarcely  express  the  'how'  to  myself.  All  who 
are  sensitive  to  their  own  impressions  seem  to  like  it  &  to  like 
it  immensely.  We  have  had  several  parties  here  twice  already 
since  Tuesday.  But  there  are  an  equal  number  of  playgoers 
who  would  have  liked  to  like  it,  I  think  —  but  cold  water  has 
been  thrown  on  their  enthusiasm  &  they  (those  of  them  who 
have  dared  to  come)  have  shown  a  sort  of  lukewarm  pleasure. 
The  piece  and  the  performance  were  prejudged ;  several  of 
the  papers  (Pall  Mall,  etc.)  making  a  dead  set  against  the  choice 
of  such  a  fossil  from  the  start.  .  .  .  Miss  Rehan  and  the 
company  have  held  their  own." 

"Love  in  Tandem"  was  given  on  July  18  with  Bourchier 
as  Dymond,  the  part  created  in  New  York  by  Drew.  Miss 
Violet  Vanbrugh,  a  valuable  addition  to  the  company,  suc- 
ceeded Miss  Prince  as  Mme.  Lauretta.     My  brother  wrote  : 


570  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

"A  splendid  audience  on  Tuesday  and  a  most  surprising 
second  night,  as  second  nigiits  go  here.     The  play  did  not  go 

with  roars,   because  roared  &  roared   through   his   part, 

&  gored  so  many  of  his  good  lines  —  lines  which  led  to  others' 
points  also  —  that  I  don't  think  more  than  half  was  under- 
stood. It  was  laughed  over,  however,  (the  play)  and  very 
heartily  at  times,  and  the  curtain  was  called  up  twice  after 
each  act,  and  at  the  end  they  gave  me  a  call.  It  was  all 
enjoyed,  I  think,  but  considered  light  and  frivolous.  However, 
it  is  seasonable  and  may  go  a  third  (or  extra)  week  to  good 
business,  &  will  be  good  for  revival  in  the  autumn  in  case  any- 
thing should  drop  suddenly  or  fizzle  out.  I  believe  the  greatest 
successes  here,  when  they  drop,  drop  to  nothing  suddenly  & 
all  at  once  —  unlike  our  own,  which  give  you  timely  warning 
of  their  decay.  Ah !  the  study,  the  interesting  study  these 
two  stages  are  —  the  English  and  the  American.  I  have  just 
opened  your  birthday  letter.  I  don't  feel  55  —  but  I  suppose 
I  am  —  yet  since  I  came  to  London  this  time  I've  felt  a  hun- 
dred, now  and  then." 

Miss  Rehan  spent  her  holiday  this  summer  at  "The 
Bungalow"  on  the  sandy  coast  of  the  Irish  sea  betw^een 
Seascale  and  Ravenglas,  vi^here  it  vi^as  her  delight  to  enter- 
tain her  English  and  American  friends. 

The  autumn  season  opened  vi^ith  "Dollars  and  Sense." 

"September  30,  1893. 

...  I  was  very  glad  to  get  your  letter  of  the  i8th,  for  I  was 
(and  am  just  now)  quite  as  low  in  spirit  as  I  have  been  at  any 
time  since  the  dark  December  days  of  1873  and  the  equally 
dark  days  of  1879-80.  Nothing  so  far  seems  to  have  been 
exactly  what  was  wanted  by  the  public  in  the  new  house. 
Taming  the  Shrew  was  only  accepted  for  its  memories  &  for 
Miss  Rehan.  The  Hunchback  seems  to  have  been  rejected 
on  account  of  its  memories  —  they  have  had  enough  of  it,  & 
even  a  Julia  from  Heaven  would  scarcely  have  stirred  them 
from  their  prejudice  against  the  play.     Love  in  Tandem  was 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  571 

considered  too  trivial,  and  now  Dollars  &  Sense  is  too  farcical 
&  too  unworthy  of  Miss  Rehan ;  and  not  even  Lewis  and  Mrs. 
Gilbert  can  pull  half  a  house  in  their  favorite  parts,  and  yet  the 
reception  of  the  piece  on  the  opening  seemed  to  be  fairly  fa- 
vorable.  .   .   . 

...  I  am  of  course  in  the  midst  of  preparation  for  The 
Foresters,  which  is  to  be  produced  on  Tuesday  next.  There  is 
as  yet  no  public  interest  shown  in  the  production.  Tennyson's 
name  &  the  success  of  Becket  (at  the  Lyceum)  have  not  helped 
it  one  atom.  If  it  draws  or  succeeds  it  will  be  altogether  upon 
the  merits  of  the  first  night's  performance.  The  rehearsals 
promise  fairly.  Bourchier  alone  is  out  of  the  picture.  He 
is  so  modern  for  a  poetic  play." 

It  was  given  on  October  3  : 

"October  6th,  1893. 

Only  a  line  —  for  my  spirits  are  low.  .  .  .  All  the  notices 
were  lovely.  The  calls  &  recalls  and  encores  were  most  en- 
thusiastic, and  most  people  thought  the  thing  was  good  for  a 
fair  run ;  but  I  felt  from  the  first  that  it  had  no  life  —  because 
there  was  no  advance  take,  no  preliminary  interest.  Tennyson 
is  a  dead  lion,  you  know,  and  no  one  cares  for  him  just  now." 

Everything  had  been  done  for  the  play.  Sullivan  re- 
hearsed the  music  in  person,  having  written  as  early  as 
September  8:  "I  take  the  very  keenest  interest  in  the 
production  of  the  '  Foresters, '  &  should  desire  to  personally 
superintend  the  musical  arrangements."  The  first  per- 
formance was  so  warmly  received  that  F.  C.  Burnand 
wrote  Mr.  Daly  next  day  :  "I  think  you  ought  to  do  well 
with  the  Foresters,  which  is  beautifully  put  upon  the 
stage.  Its  weakness  is  in  the  last  act,  &  this  Is  especially 
shown  in  the  Sheriff  (Isn't  he  .'')  &  Abbot.  Of  course  the 
plot  Is  not  strong,  but  this  Is  lost  sight  of  In  the  beauty  of 
the  setting.  ...  As  it  was,  the  verdict  was  most  favor- 
able, &  'charming'  was  on  everyone's  lips."     This  was 


572  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

the  first  time  that  the  new  Lord  Tennyson  saw  the  play ; 
he  wrote:  "My  mother  has  telegraphed  our  warmest 
congratulations  on  the  triumphant  success  of  'The 
Foresters'  last  night.  You  deserve  the  thanks  of  all 
who  care  for  a  thing  of  beauty.  Miss  Rehan  was  excel- 
lent and  looked  noble."  Charles  Oilier  wrote  on  Octo- 
ber 15: 

"The  reasons  for  its  failure  to  draw  the  EngHsh  public  are, 
I  think,  not  far  to  seek.  'The  Foresters'  is  an  abstract  poem 
.  .  .  but  it  is  not  a  drama  —  very  little  story,  very  little  human 
interest  and  hardly  any  'situations.'  The  witch  scene  and  the 
appearance  of  Richard  are  weak  and  commonplace.  .  .  .  To 
me  the  performance,  with  the  exquisitely  delicate  accessories 
with  which  you  have  surrounded  it,  was  a  treat  and  a  charm  — 
while  all  taking  part  in  the  play  were  excellent,  Miss  Rehan 
was  superlative.  ..." 

On  October  13  Augustin  was  forced  to  repeat: 

"The  Foresters  has  proven  a  very  great  failure.  I  am 
running  it  next  week  alternately  with  The  Last  Word.  ...  I 
have  put  Burnand's  play  in  rehearsal  and  shall  produce  it  on 
the  25th.  It  reads  very  funny.  I  do  hope  it  will  pull  me  out 
of  the  mire." 

"Oct.  23,  1893. 

I  do  not  know  what  to  make  of  this  apathy.  But  I  suppose 
it  is  the  old  story  of  the  new  theatre  which  has  to  be  built  up." 

Burnand's  new  play  was  "The  Orient  Express,"  an 
adaptation  of  Blumenthal  and  Kadelburg's  farce  "Orient- 
reise."  Mr.  Burnand  worked  hard  on  "The  Orient 
Express."  The  manager  was  as  hopeful  as  the  author, 
but  his  letters  record  another  failure  : 

"October  27,  1893. 

The  fates  are  still  unpropitious.  The  Orient  Express  was 
produced  on  Wednesday  to  £175,  on  Thursday  to  £170  and 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  573 

tonight  to  less  than  £100.  I  was  sure  the  piece  was  not  a  hit 
on  the  opening,  and  was  surprised  to  see  so  good  a  second  night. 
The  fun  seems  all  to  be  in  the  first  act,  after  that  it  goes  to 
pieces.  I  begin  rehearsing  School  for  Scandal  today :  That 
is  my  next  go.  .  .  .  I  have  wretched  nights  and  dreadfully 
black  awakenings  —  all  seems  such  terribly  uphill  work.  .  .  . 
I'm  paying  dreadfully  for  my  ambition." 

"Nov.  4,  1893. 
The  wintry  fogs  are  on  us  and  we  have  also  had  some  wintry 
rains  during  the  past  week.  Add  to  this  condition  the  streets 
torn  up  (for  over  3  weeks  now)  in  front  of  the  theatre  &  you 
have  a  picture  of  the  outside  view  of  things.  As  for  the  inside, 
we  are  quite  as  dismal.  This  week,  the  second  of  The  Orient 
Express,  we  had  on  Monday  £67,  Tuesday  £76,  Wednesday 
£79,  Thursday  £61,  Friday  £80.  I  have  to  run  it  next  week 
to  get  School  for  Scandal  ready.  This  of  course  is  my  big 
hope  —  next  to  Twelfth  Night  —  &  if  that  fizzles  I  shall  gasp." 

On  November  13  the  "School  for  Scandal"  was  pro- 
duced,    Augustin   wrote   concerning  it : 

"November  7th,  1893. 
The  papers  are  evenly  divided  for  and  against  our  produc- 
tion &  Miss  R's  Lady  Teazle." 

The  "School  for  Scandal"  was  kept  on  until  the  end 
of  the  year,  although  the  receipts  decreased  each  week. 
My  brother  wrote  : 

"November  30,  1893. 

The  School  for  Scandal  has  made  an  artistic  impression  and 
does  excite  the  enthusiasm  of  all  —  but  alas !  it  does  not  turn 
hundreds  away,  as  we  understand  that  term  in  New  York.  .  .  . 
The  month  of  December  I  hear  is  a  dreadful  time  for  theatres 
in  London.  .  .  .  The  impression  here  is  that  we  have  a  great 
success.  .  .  .  There  have  been  dreadful  seasons  in  London 
heretofore,  but  I  believe  this  is  one  of  the  worst  they  have  had 
for  years." 


574  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

"Dec.  30,  1893. 

The  old  year  has  given  me  some  hard  knocks,  but  as  they 
have  not  yet  floored  me  perhaps  they  have  only  hardened  me 
for  more  to  come.  The  light  of  better  days  does  not  throw- 
any  very  strong  or  promising  rays  upon  business  over  here; 
and  on  every  side  the  howls  of  managers  &  'backers'  are  heard. 
The  pantomime  at  Irving's  theatre"  (Irving  was  playing  then 
in  America)  "  is  almost  a  frost,  &  must  have  cost  £8,000  to 
put  on  the  stage,  &  must  cost  £1,500  a  week  to  run  it.  The 
house  last  night  was  not  half  full  &  that  partly  paper  —  4th 
night  of  production.  Drury  Lane  pantomime  is  a  fair  success, 
but  Covent  Garden,  'Noah's  Ark,'  is  a  frost.  These  are  the 
big  seasonable  shows ;  the  little  ones  are  frozen  over  &  out 
of  sight.  .  .  .  Dorney  hopes  I  won't  come  home  till  Easter. 
Of  course  if  I  can  live  here  I  won't." 

Perhaps  all  along  the  manager  ought  to  have  ascribed 
the  absence  of  extensive  London  patronage  partly  to  de- 
pression in  trade,  but  his  experience  had  been  that  an 
attractive  entertainment  is  not  affected  by  that  cause ; 
hence  his  concern  at  finding  that  what  were  but  a  few 
months  before  the  most  popular  entertainers  in  London 
failed  to  fill  their  houses  either  with  old  plays  or 
new.  He  felt  the  ground  slipping  from  under  his  feet, 
and  dreaded  that  each  new  production  would  add  to 
the  failures  crowding  upon  him.  But  looking  back 
upon  this  discouraging  time  there  appear  great  com- 
pensations. To  friendships  then  formed  my  brother 
owed  encouragement  which  enabled  him  to  keep  his 
footing  in  the  struggle,  the  uncertainties  of  which  clouded 
the  closing  year. 

On  January  8  the  turning  in  the  long  lane  of  disap- 
pointments was  reached ;  the  fascination  exercised  by 
"Twelfth  Night"  in  New  York  was  found  as  potent  in 
England.     Not  all  at  once  ;   the  play  that  was  to  make  the 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  575 

unprecedented  record  (for  "Twelfth  Night")  of  a  hun- 
dred performances,  began  at  the  bottom  of  the  financial 
ladder. 

Irving's  production  of  "Twelfth  Night"  was  in  1884, 
and  the  London  Standard  (January  9,  1894)  recalling  it, 
says,  "It  is  inexplicable  that  in  spite  of  the  thoroughly 
appreciative  study  of  Malvolio  by  Mr.  Irving  and  the 
infinite  charm  of  Miss  Ellen  Terry's  Viola,  the  work  is 
understood  to  have  proved  much  the  least  attractive  of 
the  series  of  Shakespearean  revivals  for  which  playgoers 
are  so  deeply  indebted  to  the  manager  of  the  Lyceum." 
And  yet  Irving,  it  is  certain,  omitted  nothing  that  taste 
and  experience  could  add  to  his  production.  "In  these 
days,"  says  the  Telegraph  (January  9,  1894),  "it  is  very 
difficult  for  a  manager  to  persuade  his  public  to  take 
Shakespeare's  'Twelfth  Night'  seriously.  Yet  Mr.  Au- 
gustin  Daly  has  performed  the  miracle  with  admirable 
success." 

Letters  on  "Twelfth  Night"  were  received  from  Burne 
Jones  and  from  LInley  Sambourne  (who  brought  John 
Tenniel  to  the  play),  Julia  St.  George,  who  had  studied 
under  Samuel  Phelps  and  Macready,  Mrs.  Crowe  (Kate 
Bateman),  who  wrote  of  coming  with  her  old  friend  Emma 
Marble,  whom  she  was  sure  Mr.  Daly  must  "remember 
about  100  years  ago  in  Brooklyn";  and  Mrs.  John 
Wood,  who  was  to  bring  the  famous  Mrs.  Keeley,  and 
who  predicted  what  was  coming  to  comic  actresses  in 
the  new  "problem  play"  tidal  wave  : 

"I  think  my  next  piece  should  be  Mrs.  Rip  Van  Winkle  after 
the  100  years  sleep.  It  Is  not  my  fault  I've  not  acted  —  It's 
the  authors  who  are  to  blame.  They  won't  be  funny,  and 
they  are  driving  me  to  tradegy  —  I  can't  even  spell  the  word, 
how  shall  I  act  it  .^  But  what  is  to  become  of  me  .''  I  thought 
Emilia  in  Othello  would  be  a  nice  easy  part  to  begin  with.     She 


576  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

walks  on  and  off  so  much  I  could  get  used  to  the  stage  —  and 
my  black  velvet  train  !     Think  about  this  and  tell  me  to-night." 

Ambassador  Bayard  wrote  immediately  after  the  first 
night  to  sound  his  "note  of  admiration  in  the  great 
chorus."     Furness  exulted  from  the  other  shore: 

"  Bless  thee,  bully  Daly  —  it  does  me  good  to  see  your  copper- 
plate handwriting  again.  Of  the  success  of  you  and  yours  in 
'Twelfth  Night'  the  cable  has  already  apprised  us,  and  my 
heart  did  so  joy  thereat  that  I  echoed  Walt  Whitman  and  gave 
a  barbaric  yawp  over  the  roofs  of  the  world." 

The  exciting  first  season  in  the  new  theatre  closed  on 
May  5,  1894,  with  "As  You  Like  It."  In  addition  to  the 
arduous  duty  of  appearing  in  eleven  productions  in  as 
many  months,  the  actors  had  participated  in  several 
charitable  performances  and  had  played  again  at  Strat- 
ford. Before  leaving  England  Mr.  Daly  made  an  ar- 
rangement by  which  Mr.  George  Edwardes  was  to  occupy 
the  London  theatre  with  one  of  his  musical  productions, 
but  earlier  engagements  were  filled  by  Mme.  Eleanora 
Duse  (June  11)  and  Mme.  Sarah  Bernhardt  (June  23), 
and  were  extremely  profitable.  The  new  Daly's  Theatre 
was  now  firmly  established.  Mr.  Daly's  lease  ran  to 
Christmas,  1913. 


CHAPTER  XLIV 

Dorney  in  charge  of  Daly's,  New  York,  for  the  season  of  1 893-1 894. 
Rosina  Yokes.  Her  death.  Keller,  the  magician.  Mme.  Pilar 
Morin.  Sol  Smith  Russell.  De  Koven  and  Macdonough's  "Alge- 
rian." James  A.  Heme  and  "Shore  Acres,"  —  a  novelty  and  a 
success.  Return  of  Mr.  Daly.  His  new  policy.  Musical  com- 
edies to  share  the  Daly  season,  and  the  dramatic  company  to  be 
divided.  Dixey  joins  the  company.  The  new  musical  comedy 
from  London,  "The  Gaiety  Girl."  Congratulations  from  abroad 
on  its  success.  Its  great  run.  "Twelfth  Night"  with  Dixey  as 
Malvolio,  his  first  Shakespearian  part.  The  Laetare  Medal. 
Newcomers  —  Frank  Worthing,  Miss  Maxine  Elliott,  Miss  Cecilia 
Loftus.  "Heart  of  Ruby."  Miss  Oldcastle.  Seventh  great 
Shakespearian  revival,  "The  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona."  "A 
Bundle  of  Lies."  "A  Tragedy  Rehearsed."  The  season  concludes 
with  the  revival  of  "The  Honeymoon." 

While  Mr.  Daly  was  away  Mr.  Richard  Dorney  was  left 
in  charge  of  the  home  establishment,  and  had  his  troubles. 
Not,  however,  with  Miss  Rosina  Yokes  in  her  cheerful 
season,  —  her  last  here,  for  she  died  at  Torquay  in  January, 
1894.  Mr.  Keller,  the  prestidigitator,  came  next,  and 
with  him  "The  Loan  of  a  Lover,"  with  Miss  Catharine 
Lewis,  William  Gilbert,  James  K.  Hackett,  Eugene  Jepson, 
and  Wilfred  Buckland,  made  up  the  bill.  Dorney  next 
engaged  a  company  of  French  pantomimists  led  by  Mdlle. 
Pilar  Morin  in  a  revival  of  "L'Enfant  Prodigue,"  and  then 
Mr.  Sol  Smith  Russell  in  "Peaceful  Valley,"  "A  Poor 
Relation,"  and  "April  Weather."  Then  came  "The 
Algerian"  by  De  Koven  and  Macdonough,  and  "The 
Fencing  Master"  by  De  Koven  and  Smith.  Up  to  this 
time,  December,  1893,  the  season  had  been  running  behind 
financially,  but  Mr.  Dorney  was  now  also  to  experience 

S77 


578  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

"the  Governor's"  turn  of  luck.  On  Christmas  Day 
Mr.  James  A.  Heme  brought  his  company  to  the  theatre  in 
"  Shore  Acres."  Henry  Irving,  then  playing  in  New  York, 
paid  a  visit  to  Daly's  and  was  delighted  with  it  —  Heme 
as  dramatist,  actor,  and  stage  manager  showed  uncommon 
skill.  Stoddard  was  having  a  still  greater  success  in  the 
mornings  with  his  illustrated  lecture  upon  a  visit  to 
Oberammergau  and  the  Passion  Play.  It  drew  crowds, 
and  was  given  at  night  when  the  dramatic  season  was  over. 

With  the  return  of  Mr.  Daly  a  new  policy  was  an- 
nounced. During  the  long  visit  to  England  he  had  been 
convinced  that  musical  comedies  were  destined  to  be 
permanent  attractions  everywhere.  He  arranged  with 
George  Edwardes  for  American  seasons  of  that  gentleman's 
productions,  intending  to  divide  the  theatrical  year  be- 
tween them  and  his  own  dramatic  season.  His  company 
was  to  be  divided  for  touring  purposes,  Lewis  and  Mrs. 
Gilbert  to  head  one  division  and  Miss  Rehan,  as  a  star, 
the  other.  The  versatile  and  gifted  Henry  E.  Dixey  was 
engaged  for  "A  Night  Off"  and  "Seven-Twenty-Eight," 
and  both  plays  were  given  at  a  summer  season  at  Daly's. 

The  first  of  Edwardes'  musical  plays  now  arrived,  and 
its  success  confirmed  Mr.  Daly  in  his  purpose  of  making 
such  entertainments  a  regular  feature  of  each  season. 
This  had  been  his  idea  in  1879  when  he  brought  out  "The 
Royal  Middy,"  and  was  in  fact  a  very  old  policy  revived  ; 
for  the  theatres  of  a  past  age  maintained  companies  for 
drama,  music,  and  even  pantomime.  For  the  "Gaiety 
Girl"  Edwardes  sent  over  his  own  company,  a  particularly 
bright  one.  The  enormous  success  of  the  piece  was  cabled 
to  all  the  London  papers,  and  the  news  produced  telegrams 
of  congratulation  from  "the  London  Daly  boys  and  girls" 
—  now  playing  in  the  same  piece  at  the  London  theatre  — 
to  their  brothers  and  sisters  "the  New  York  Daly  boys 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  579 

and  girls."  The  receipts  were  immense,  and  the  piece 
continued  until  the  opening  of  the  regular  dramatic 
season  on  November  27. 

Both  dramatic  companies  united  in  a  revival  of 
"Twelfth  Night."  Dixey  was  Malvolio  (his  first  Shake- 
spearian part),  Sybil  Carlisle  Olivia,  and  Francis  Carlyle 
Orsino.  My  brother  notes  in  his  record  that  there  was 
"a  splendid  house"  to  greet  the  company  after  a  year's 
absence.  He  showed  me,  by  the  way,  a  handsomely 
engrossed  letter  signed  by  the  twenty-four  members  of 
the  staff  employed  in  "the  front  of  the  house"  at  Daly's 
Theatre,  London,  wishing  him  and  Miss  Rehan  and  the 
company  "health  and  success  and  a  safe  return  to  your 
English  home." 

While  "Twelfth  Night"  was  on  the  boards,  an  interest- 
ing event  took  place  one  afternoon  (December  16,  1894) 
at  the  Archbishop's  house  on  Madison  Avenue  and  Fiftieth 
Street  in  the  presence  of  a  large  number  of  well  known 
New  Yorkers.  This  was  the  presentation  to  my  brother 
by  Archbishop  Corrigan  of  the  "Laetare  Medal,"  which 
had  been  awarded  to  him  by  the  University  of  Notre 
Dame,  Indiana,  on  Laetare  Sunday  (mid-Lent)  1894. 
On  that  day  the  Golden  Rose  is  presented  by  the  Holy  See 
to  some  sanctuary  or  to  some  illustrious  personage,  accord- 
ing to  a  custom  the  origin  of  which  is  lost  in  antiquity ; 
and  the  University  of  Notre  Dame  on  the  same  day 
awards  the  honor  of  a  medal  to  persons  in  the  faith  who 
are  distinguished  for  eminent  services. 

On  December  7  Augustin  gave  a  home-coming  supper 
in  the  Woffington  room  to  old  and  new  friends,  among 
them  Mr.  Justin  Huntley  McCarthy,  Jr.,  who  had  very 
recently  come  to  America  with  his  wife,  formerly  Miss 
Cecilia  Loftus.     She  was  now  with  Mr.  Daly's  company. 

The  present  season   at  the  home  theatre  turned  out 


58o  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

to  be  one  of  the  hardest  working  years  of  its  manager's 
experience.  No  less  than  five  new  pieces  were  prepared 
and  presented  alternately  with  the  revival  of  nine  favorites 
of  past  seasons,  all  staged  in  the  most  elaborate  fashion. 
After  "Twelfth  Night"  there  was  a  revival  of  "Love  on 
Crutches"  with  Mr.  Frank  Worthing,  the  successor  of 
Mr.  Bourchier.  Then  followed  "The  Taming  of  the 
Shrew,"  and  after  it  came  the  elaborate  production  of 
Madame  Judith  Gautier's  Japanese  dramatic  spectacle, 
"La  Marchande  de  Sourires,"  which  had  enjoyed  a  suc- 
cess at  the  Odeon  in  Paris,  and  was  adapted  by  Mr.  Hunt- 
ley McCarthy  for  Daly's  and  called  "Heart  of  Ruby." 
It  introduced  another  new  member  of  the  company,  the 
beautiful  Miss  Maxine  Elliott,  as  Heart  of  Ruby.  On  the 
first  night  the  Japanese  Consul,  Mr.  Hashigucki,  and  the 
Japanese  Minister  to  Great  Britain,  Mr.  H.  E.  Kato, 
witnessed  the  play,  and  the  consul,  after  praising  the 
costumes  and  speaking  of  the  success  of  the  play  in  a 
letter  to  the  manager,  added  :  "The  scenery  reminded  us 
of  our  sweet  home.  During  the  whole  evening  I  was 
transported  to  Japan."  The  beautiful  spectacle,  inter- 
preted with  rare  beauty  and  intelligence,  was,  however, 
thrown  away.  Its  magnificence  and  novelty  did  not  even 
excite  curiosity,  and  it  was  promptly  withdrawn.  "The 
Railroad  of  Love"  succeeded  it,  and  was  followed  by 
"The  Orient  Express."  A  matinee  on  February  7,  1895, 
introduced  to  the  public  Miss  Oldcastle  (Countess  Castel- 
vecchio)  in  an  entertainment  in  which  she  was  assisted 
by  a  former  member  of  Daly's,  Miss  May  Fielding,  and 
by  Mr.  Daubigny,  Mr.  Dixey,  and  Mdlle.  Marco. 

The  Shakespearian  revival  of  this  season,  "Two 
Gentlemen  of  Verona,"  took  place  on  February  25, 
1895.  This  play  was  quite  unknown  to  the  modern  Ameri- 
can stage,  having  been  last  seen  at  the  old  Park  Theatre 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  581 

in  1846  when  Charles  Kean  and  Ellen  Tree  included  it  in 
their  repertoire.  George  Clarke  now  appeared  as  Duke 
of  Milan,  Frank  Worthing  as  Proteus,  John  Craig  as 
Valentine,  Sidney  Herbert  as  Thurio,  Maxwell  as  Eglamour, 
Gollan  as  Antonio,  Leclercq  as  Panthino,  Lewis  as  Launce, 
Gresham  as  Speed,  Tyrone  Power  as  the  Host,  and  Bos- 
worth,  Bridgland,  and  Maclauhran  as  Outlaws.  Miss 
Rehan  was  Julia,  Miss  Maxine  Elliott  Sylvia,  and  Miss 
Carlisle  Lucetta.  The  costumes  were  designed  by  Graham 
Robertson  and  the  scenery  by  Ernest  Albert, 

Charles  Wheatleigh  had  been  cast  for  Antonio,  father 
of  Proteus,  and  rehearsed  it  on  February  14,  but  the 
same  afternoon  was  taken  ill  at  home  and  died.  His 
departure,  like  that  of  Fisher,  was  a  great  loss.  He 
was  succeeded  later  at  Daly's  by  Mr.  Edwin  Varrey.  On 
March  II  the  decease  of  a  celebrated  personage,  not 
of  the  theatre  but  in  one  way  closely  connected  with  it, 
was  cabled  from  Paris.  This  was  Worth,  who  had  for  so 
many  years  draped  society  and  the  stage  with  equal  taste 
and  daring. 

"Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona"  was  by  no  means  as 
popular  as  the  previous  Shakespearian  revivals.  It  was 
alternated  with  "Nancy  &  Co."  On  March  28  a  new 
German  farce  from  the  original  of  Carl  Laufs  and  Wil- 
helm  Jacoby,  called  "A  Bundle  of  Lies,"  was  produced, 
and  on  April  i  Mr.  Daly's  version  of  "The  Critic"  in  one 
act,  called  "A  Tragedy  Rehearsed,"  was  revived  with 
Dixey  as  Puff. 

All  this  went  on  while  Mr.  Daly  was  preparing  from  the 
repertoire  of  the  past  one  of  those  favorites  which  the 
modern  theatre  has  unaccountably  ignored.  This  was 
John  Tobin's  "Honeymoon."  Miss  Rehan  was  absolutely 
at  home  in  the  role  of  the  high-spirited  and  resentful 
Juliana,  and  so  was  James  Lewis  in  Jaques  (the  mock 


582  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

duke).  Worthing  was  a  masterful  and  cynical  Aranza^ 
and  Miss  Elliott  and  Miss  Haswell  were  spirited  and 
beautiful  as  Volante  and  Zamora.  Clarke  was  Rolando, 
Herbert  Montalban,  Owen  Balthazar,  Leclercq  Lampedo, 
Sampson  Lopez,  Bridgland  Campillo,  Sheppard  Pedro, 
Wharnock  Olmedo,  Miss  Voorhees  the  Wife  of  Lopez,  and 
Mrs.  Gilbert  The  Hostess. 

The  season  closed  on  April  20  with  "A  Midsummer 
Night's  Dream."  After  fourteen  changes  of  bill,  Augustin 
this  year  had  not  only  shown  undiminished  capacity  for 
incessant  work,  but  his  usual  lavishness  in  the  face  of 
successive  disappointments.  "Heart  of  Ruby,"  "Two 
Gentlemen  of  Verona,"  and  "The  Honeymoon"  received 
an  outlay  of  care,  taste,  and  invention  from  which  no 
material  return  could  be  expected.  He  might  almost  have 
chosen  as  his  motto  at  this  time,  "All  for  love  and  nothing 
for  reward." 


CHAPTER  XLV 

Scarcity  of  suitable  plays.  London.  Luncheon  given  by  the  Lord 
Mayor  and  Lady  Mayoress  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daly,  Miss  Rehan, 
and  the  company.  Last  performance  of  the  Daly  company  in 
Daly's  London  theatre.  Preparation  of  "Le  Collier  de  la  Reine" 
for  Mrs.  Potter  and  Mr.  Bellew  in  New  York.  Clement  Scott's 
opinion  of  an  actor's  collaboration.  Production  of  the  play.  Tran- 
sition to  opera  —  "Hansel  and  Gretel"  brought  to  Daly's  by  Sir 
Augustus  Harris.  Another  pantomime,  "Mdlle.  Pygmalion" 
with  Mdlle.  Jeanne  May.  Canada.  Montreal.  Death  of  Le- 
clercq.  Widmer,  excellent  chief  of  orchestra,  dies.  Regular 
dramatic  season  of  1895-1896  begins.  A  new  comedy  from  the 
German,  "The  Transit  of  Leo,"  not  a  success.  Bad  business 
generally  in  theatricals.  Richard  Mansfield  speaks  his  mind. 
Miss  Maxine  Elliott.  Her  sister  Gertrude.  "The  Two  Escutch- 
eons." Project  for  combining  the  two  parts  of  "Henry  IV" 
into  one  play.  The  first  success  of  this  laborious  season,  "The 
Countess  Gucki,"  from  the  German.  German  and  English  pro- 
ductions. The  company  on  tour  again,  and  Mrs.  Potter  and  Mr. 
Bellew  in  "  Romeo  and  Juliet."  Daly's  letter  from  Norfolk,  Virginia. 
Ruins  of  the  old  Avon  Theatre.  Reminiscences  of  boyish  politics 
in  the  South.  Rose  Coghlan  in  "Madame,"  produced  by  Palmer 
at  Daly's.  Dinner  given  to  Daly  by  the  Shakespeare  Society. 
Revival  of  the  old  Dunlap  Society.     Death  of  James  Lewis. 

Daly  was  destined  to  feel,  in  succeeding  seasons,  more  and 
more  the  difficulty  of  acquiring  plays  which  should  fulfil 
his  requirements ;  and  there  resulted  a  continuous  strain 
with  very  little  respite  from  anxiety. 

His  company  played  for  six  weeks  outside  of  New  York 
and  then  revisited  the  London  theatre  for  a  season,  giving 
"The  Railroad  of  Love,"  "Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona," 
"The  Honeymoon,"  and  "A  Midsummer  Night's 
Dream";    the  last  was  a  stranger  to  the  later  London 

583 


584  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

theatres,  and  made  a  distinct  hit.  During  this  visit  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Daly,  Miss  Rehan  and  the  company  were  the 
guests  of  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Lady  Mayoress  at  a 
luncheon  at  the  Mansion  House,  at  which  were  present 
Ambassador  Bayard,  representatives  of  the  great  London 
papers,  and  several  London  managers. 

The  season  terminated  with  "The  Two  Gentlemen  of 
Verona,"  and  when  the  company  was  enthusiastically 
called  before  the  curtain  at  the  end,  my  brother  brought 
forward  Mrs.  Gilbert  to  share  In  the  affectionate  farewell. 
She  was  not  in  costume,  having  had  no  part  in  the  play. 
This  was  the  last  appearance  of  the  Daly  Company  in 
Daly's  London  Theatre.     On  July  25  Augustin  wrote  : 

"We  close  here  on  Wednesday  next  &  I  shall  not  be  sorry. 
If  I  can  afford  it  I  shall  try  &  go  to  Paris  on  the  ist  of  September 
for  a  week." 

His  letter  of  the  13th  of  August  from  Sandhills,  where 
he  and  Mrs.  Daly  were  Miss  Rehan's  guests,  gives  some 
idea  of  a  manager's  vacation  : 

"I  have  been  very  busy  the  past  two  days  getting  Collier 
de  la  Reine  ready  for  rehearsals  in  N.Y.  —  It  Is  rather  a  tough 
job  to  get  a  play  ready  for  rehearsal  when  you  are  on  the  spot 
to  direct  —  but  it  is  rhinoscerian  when  you  are  3000  miles  away 
from  the  spot. 

I  was  In  Paris  for  about-36  hours  to  talk  things  over  with  Mrs. 
Potter  &  Bellew,  &  I  hope  all  will  go  well  with  them. 

I  came  down  here  on  Saturday  last  and  It  has  taken  me 
three  days  to  get  my  head  out  of  the  whirl  it  was  In  before  I 
left  London.  I  am  just  today  beginning  to  feel  easy.  The 
air  is  delightful,  the  quiet  Is  heavenly.  We  go  back  to  London 
on  the  23rd  or  24th.  Winter  Is  expected  at  the  Metropole 
on  the  22d.     Look  him  up  when  you  return. 

Ever 

Brother." 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  585 

The  allusion  to  Mrs.  Potter  and  Mr.  Bellew  and  the 
preparation  of  "Le  Collier  dc  la  Reinc"  was  with  reference 
to  the  engagement  of  these  well-known  stars  for  a  season 
at  the  home  theatre,  in  a  romantic  play  by  Pierre  Decour- 
celles  which  had  had  a  great  run  at  the  Porte  St.  Martin 
in  Paris.  A  version  in  English  was  made  by  Clement 
Scott  and  afterwards  by  Charles  Henry  Metzer  for  Mr. 
Daly,  and  was  freely  revised  by  Mr.  Bellew  himself. 
Scott's  opinion  of  the  value  of  actors'  collaboration  in  such 
work  is  here  very  plainly  expressed  : 

"My  dear  Daly: 

Honestly  I  do  not  think  that  the  First  Act  has  been  improved 
by  Bellew's  alterations.  It  may  be  well  to  mix  up  Cagliostro 
and  The  Poet  —  but  Cagliostro  was  a  fine  bit  of  character  after 
all.  The  omission  of  the  scene  inside  the  jeweller's  shop  is,  I 
venture  to  think,  a  decided  mistake,  for  the  'swindle'  with  the 
Portuguese  was  a  genuine  bit  of  comedy.  There  is  nothing  to 
take  its  place.  The  opening  to  the  Porte  St.  Martin  scene  is  to 
my  mind  simple  bosh.  It  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  story. 
Now  the  jeweller's  shop  scene  is  directly  in  the  story  and  applies 
to  the  interest  of  the  Diamond  Necklace.  I  never  believe  in  a 
play  cut  by  an  actor.  They  think  only  of  their  own  part,  never 
of  the  play.  The  first  act  was  too  long,  but  the  interest  has 
been  cut  out  and  nothing  takes  its  place. 

Yours 

Clement  Scott." 

The  play  was  brought  out  on  September  3,  1895,  in 
Daly's  New  York  Theatre,  with  expensive  costumes  by 
Worth,  Maurice  Hermann,  and  Mme.  Jeanne  Taty,  and 
elaborate  scenery.  Mr.  Daly's  own  company  furnished 
the  support  for  Mrs.  Potter,  who  assumed  the  parts  of 
Marie  Antoinette  and  her  supposed  double  Olivia.  Mr. 
Bellew  was  de  Rohan,  Mr,  James  K.  Hackett  de  Charny, 
Miss  Hosford  the  Countess  de  la  Motte,  Henry  St.  Maur 


586  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Cagliostro,  Redmond  Louis  XFI,  Sampson  St.  Landry, 
Jepson  Germaine,  Gollan  The  Portuguese,  Miss  Haswell 
Andree  de  Taverney,  Miss  Sylvie  Dame  Clothilde,  and  Miss 
Upham  the  Innkeeper^s  Wife,  in  a  total  cast  of  thirty-two 
persons.  The  stage  was  as  brilliant  as  a  coronation 
tableau. 

The  play  was  frankly  made  up  from  the  romance  of 
Dumas  pere.  The  New  York  papers  variously  dismissed 
its  dramatic  quality  as  "a  wilderness  of  small-talk  and 
absence  of  climax."  Bellew's  Cardinal  was  termed  a 
mere  sketch,  of  which  he  made  the  most  by  an  impressive 
manner  and  graceful,  if  conscious,  poses.  Bellew  was 
then  one  of  the  best-known  actors  on  the  boards.  He  was 
originally  brought  from  England  by  Wallack  to  take  the 
place  of  Tearle,  who  followed  Montague,  who  replaced 
Lester  Wallack  himself  as  a  leading  man  in  the  famous 
company.  Mrs.  Potter's  Marie  Antoinette  was  a  lovely 
apparition,  and  looked,  as  one  critic  remarked,  as  if  she 
had  stepped  from  the  frame  of  a  Louis  Seize  painting. 
But  her  speech  was  marred  by  many  faults  of  elocution. 
One  writer  described  her  as  having  "half  an  ounce  of 
temperament  and  not  a  pennyweight  of  dramatic  talent." 
The  fact  is  that  the  pluck  which  sustained  her  through  all 
the  discouragements  of  her  transition  from  society  to  the 
footlights  did  not  impel  her  to  surrender  herself  to  a 
laborious  stage  novitiate.  Hence  she  appeared  season 
after  season  with  her  native  defects  uncorrected. 

On  October  7,  1895,  Humperdinck's  "Hansel  and 
Gretel"  was  brought  to  Daly's  by  Sir  Augustus  Harris, 
manager  of  Drury  Lane.  An  augmented  orchestra  was 
conducted  by  Herr  Anton  Seidl. 

A  musical  work  of  another  kind  was  brought  out  at 
Daly's  on  November  18,  1895.  This  was  Francis 
Thome's  "Mademoiselle  Pygmalion,"  the  book  by  Michel 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  587 

Carre  and  Jean  Herbert.  It  was  a  play  without  words,  the 
second  attempt  made  by  Daly  to  produce  pantomime. 
Mdlle.  Jeanne  May  impersonated  the  two  roles  of  Mdlle. 
Pygmalion,  the  sculptor,  and  of  Pierrot,  the  animated 
statue.  The  perfection  of  the  company  (perhaps  half 
of  them  Americans)  was  especially  commended.  The 
pantomime  was  played  one  week  at  Daly's  and  then  taken 
on  the  road  by  Mr.  Arthur  Rehan. 

While  the  home  theatre  was  thus  occupied,  the  whole 
Daly  company  played  from  September  23  to  November 
18  in  Chicago,  Baltimore,  Washington,  Philadelphia, 
Boston,  Brooklyn,  Montreal,  and  Toronto,  this  being  their 
first  visit  to  Canada.  From  conservative  Montreal  I 
received  a  letter  written  on  November  6,  1895  : 

"This  place  is  a  half  dead-and-alive  town  —  as  far  as 
theatricals  go  —  and  not  over-interesting  as  a  place  to  stop  in, 
but  of  course  you  know  it,  you  must  have  been  here  often.  To 
me  it  seems  reminiscent  of  half  a  dozen  other  places,  just  as 
the  people  are  patches  of  other  people.  The  French  here  are 
not  French  (except  in  sticking  by  each  other  &  keeping  aloof 
from  the  English)  and  the  English  seem  half  Scotch,  or  border- 
land English  at  most.     Our  houses  have  been  miserable." 

While  the  company  was  travelling  this  fall,  Mr. 
Leclercq  was  not  with  them.  An  illness  which  had  de- 
tained him  at  home  terminated  fatally  on  September  19, 
1895,  in  New  York.  Another  severe  loss  was  sustained  by 
my  brother  in  the  death  of  his  chef  d'orchestre,  Henry 
Widmer,  on  November  23. 

On  November  26,  1895,  with  "The  School  for  Scandal" 
the  regular  dramatic  season  of  1 895-1 896  began.  After 
two  weeks  the  old  comedy  was  replaced  on  December  10, 
1895,  by  the  latest  adaptation  from  the  German,  "The 
Transit  of  Leo,"  —  in  the  original  "Das  Schosskind." 


588  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

The  acting  in  the  play  was  deservedly  praised.  Mr. 
Worthing  was  said  to  be  a  worthy  successor  of  Air.  Drew; 
and  the  press  wrote  of  Miss  Maxine  Elliott  that  under 
Mr.  Daly's  tutelage  she  had  "come  to  the  front  with  a 
bound.  She  always  was  a  beautiful  figure  of  a  woman, 
but  in  the  last  year  she  has  become  an  actress,"  Praise 
of  the  acting  at  the  expense  of  the  play  itself  is  the  death- 
knell  of  a  stage  production,  and  we  shall  not  be  surprised 
to  learn  that  "The  Transit  of  Leo"  was  taken  off  after 
but  ten  representations.  While  it  was  on  the  boards 
Augustin  wrote  to  me  : 

"The  business  I  have  done  this  week  has  been  vile.  Of 
course  the  fortnight  before  Christmas'  is  always  a  desperate 
time,  but  this  is  really  half  the  business  I  have  ever  done  at  this 
season." 

There  were  similar  complaints  heard  from  all  quarters. 
Richard  Mansfield,  who  had  taken  Harrigan's  theatre 
(now  the  Garrick)  after  Harrigan  had  failed  in  it,  and  who 
possessed,  in  addition  to  his  dramatic  talent,  a  gift  for 
speaking  very  plainly  to  the  public,  abruptly  closed  his 
season  about  this  time;  and,  being  called  before  the  cur- 
tain on  his  last  night,  advanced  to  the  footlights  and 
delivered  himself  as  follows  : 

"It  occurred  to  me,  and  it  was  suggested  by  some  of  my 
entourage,  that  we  needed  something  to  eat;  and  I  didn't  see 
that  it  was  possible  to  obtain  the  wherewithal  to  get  it  so  long 
as  I  remained  in  New  York.  I  assure  you  that  there  is  no  place 
in  which  it  is  so  difficult  to  win  pecuniary  success  as  in  New 
York,  and  for  that  reason  I  am  compelled  to  go  to  what  you  are 
pleased  to  call  the  provinces." 

He  might  have  added  that  there  is  no  place  where  it 
is    more   difficult   to   retain    the   public    favor   after   you 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  589 

have,  with  infinite  pains,  succeeded  in  winning  it.  Indeed, 
you  may  include  the  whole  Union  in  your  statement  and 
not  be  afraid  of  contradiction. 

While  Augustin  put  in  rehearsal  another  new  play, 
he  revived  "Twelfth  Night"  —  Miss  Rehan,  of  course, 
as  Fiola,  Worthing  now  as  Orsino,  Miss  Percy  Haswell 
as  Maria,  and  Miss  Maxine  Elliott  as  Olivia.  This  season 
Miss  Gertrude  Elliott  was  introduced  by  her  sister  to  Mr. 
Daly,  who  heard  her  recite  (she  had  never  yet  appeared 
on  the  stage)  and  was  much  pleased  with  her. 

"Hansel  and  Gretel"  was  brought  out  again  for  the 
Christmas  holidays  on  December  23. 

On  January  7,  1896,  Blumenthal  and  Kadelberg's 
play  "Zwei  Wappen,"  adapted  by  Sydney  Rosenfeld  and 
called  "The  Two  Escutcheons,"  was  presented  for  the 
first  time  in  English.  Mr.  Edwin  Stevens,  a  new  acquisi- 
tion to  the  company,  made  his  first  appearance  as  the 
Baron  von  Wettingen.     The  play  ran  three  weeks. 

During  the  season  Daly  began  to  work  out  a  favorite 
idea,  the  production  of  Shakespeare's  "King  Henry  the 
Fourth"  with  Part  I  and  Part  II  combined  in  a  single 
play,  in  order  to  present  the  character  of  Prince  Hal 
rounded  out,  and  to  follow  that  inimitable  creation 
Falstaff  through  all  his  amusing  rascahties  to  the  final 
scene  of  collapse  under  the  rebuke  of  the  new  King.  The 
elimination  of  much  of  the  political  matter  that  goes  to 
make  up  the  "History"  would  bring  the  play  within  the 
limit  of  an  evening's  performance.  James  Lewis  was  to 
be  the  Falstaff,  and  an  idea  for  Miss  Rehan  as  Harry  of 
Monmouth  was  entertained  but  subsequently  abandoned. 
A  costly  and  appropriate  set  of  costumes  was  designed. 
Furness  approved  of  the  plan  of  consolidating  the  two 
parts,  and  advised  as  to  details.  In  the  middle  of  the 
season,  however,  arrived  the  manuscript  of  a  new  play  by 


590  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Franz  von  Schonthan,  written  expressly  for  Miss  Rehan, 
and  dedicated  by  the  author  to  her.  It  was  called 
"Countess  Gucki,"  and  was  essentially  of  a  high  comedy 
order.     Its  production  took  place  on  January  28,  1896. 

The  new  comedy  gave  a  glimpse  of  military  and  official 
life  in  Carlsbad  in  18 19.  Germany,  lately  recovered  from 
the  Napoleonic  spectre,  had  resumed  its  formalism. 
"Countess  Gucki,"  the  witty  and  independent  Countess 
Hermance  Trachau,  ridicules  the  method  by  which  her 
timid,  toad-eating  sister-in-law  Madame  Court  Counsellor 
von  Mittersteig  has  procured  for  her  simple-minded  nephew 
Rudolf  the  post  of  Imperial  Royal  Commissioner  for  the 
inspection  of  Spas.  She  explains  to  Rudolf,  to  the  con- 
sternation of  the  family : 

"Here's  the  whole  story.  Your  appointment  had  to  come 
from  the  Burggraf  Colonel  von  Ellbogen.  With  that  gentle- 
man your  aunt  had  no  personal  acquaintance,  but  she  did  know 
Mrs.  General  Koglovich,  for  whose  seven  children  she  had  stood 
godmother.  Mrs.  Koglovich  didn't  know  the  Graf  either,  but 
she  did  know  a  Mrs.  von  Hawlaczek,  and  Mrs.  von  Hawlaczek 
has  a  sister.  Unfortunately  the  sister  was  not  directly  ac- 
quainted with  the  Burggraf,  but  it  appears  she  had  just  made  a 
present  of  an  exquisitely  illuminated  missal  to  the  Bishop  of 
Zaym.  The  Bishop,  when  a  boy,  went  to  school  with  the  Burg- 
graf, and  still  sends  him  every  year  at  Michaelmas  a  keg  of 
gherkins.  Well,  with  the  last  keg  of  gherkins  went  a  letter  of 
recommendation  in  your  behalf,  in  consequence  of  which  you 
have  become  Spa  Inspector  in  Carlsbad.  All  of  which  proves 
that  you  owe  the  place  not  to  anybody's  influence,  but  to  your 
own  merits  and  those  of  your  family,  the  Hawlaczeks,  the 
Koglovichs,  the  sister,  the  Bishop,  the  missal  and  the  gherkins, 
and  the  Burggraf  Colonel  von  Ellbogen." 

The  lover,  Horst  von  Neuhoff,  was  Mr.  Charles  Rich- 
man,  the  latest  addition  to  Daly's  company.     He  played 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  591 

with  ingenuous  audacity  the  briUiant  scenes  with  the 
Countess  and  with  his  uncle  the  Russian  General  Suwat- 
scheff^  Mr.  Edwin  Stevens. 

Conreid's  German  company  performed  the  original  at 
the  Irving  Place  Theatre  while  the  translation  was  being 
played  at  Daly's,  where  it  ran  to  the  end  of  the  season, 
which  terminated  on  February  29,  1896. 

The  London  theatre  was  now  packed  to  the  doors  by 
a  new  musical  piece,  "The  Geisha,"  so  after  their  American 
tour  the  Daly  company  went  to  the  Comedy  Theatre  in 
the  Haymarket,  where  Mme.  Sarah  Bernhardt,  who  had 
been  excluded  from  Daly's  for  the  same  reason  that  kept 
its  proprietor  out,  had  been  playing  her  annual  London 
engagement.  The  Daly  company  remained  at  the 
Comedy  Theatre  for  six  weeks,  giving  "Countess  Gucki" 
and  "Love  on  Crutches."  While  they  were  away  Mrs. 
Potter  and  Mr.  Bellew  came  to  the  New  York  theatre  in 
"Romeo  and  Juliet,"  which  Mr.  Daly  produced  for  them. 
Mr.  Bellew  was  undoubtedly  the  best  Romeo  then  on  the 
stage,  but  the  journalistic  reviews  were  almost  altogether 
taken  up  with  Mrs.  Potter's  Juliet.  They  were  copious 
and  generally  flattering,  but  dwelt  upon  defective  elocu- 
tion, untrained  voice,  and  bad  method.  The  result  of 
all  the  labor  of  manager  and  artists  is  recorded  in  a  line 
to  me  from  Augustin  on  March  18:  "I  cannot  under- 
stand its  dreadful  failure.  I  have  had  a  nightly  cold 
chill  as  Dorney's  telegrams  have  come  to  me." 

This  letter  was  from  New  Orleans,  where  his  expecta- 
tions were  also  disappointed  ;  he  wrote  me  that  Irving 
had  done  poorly  there  too.  From  Norfolk,  Virginia,  he 
wrote  (March  29,  1896)  : 

"I  cannot  restrain  the  desire  to  send  you  a  line  from  Norfolk. 
...  I  have  been  spending  all  my  spare  time  in  rambles  over 
our  earliest  ways  &  byways.     I  have  located  Scott's  school, 


592  THE  LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

but  I  can't  find  the  haunted  house  near  the  Old  Fields  in  which 
our  first  circus  was  opened  in  the  old  cow  shed.  I  have  found 
the  old  frame  house  opposite  the  old  churchyard  (the  churchyard 
is  built  over  and  a  handsome  new  church  is  there)  but  the  old 
porch  is  there  in  its  pristine  ugliness  on  which  '  Cugger'  (Cousin), 
hung  lanterns  of  home  make  for  our  first  political  torch-light 
procession  (Shades  of  Polk  &  Dallas  rise  up  before  me  at  the 
thought)  ;  and  I  even  found  relics  in  Dodd's  Lane  of  the  earliest 
house  we  lived  in  when  we  came  from  Carolina.  The  old 
theatre  in  which  we  saw  our  first  play  is  razed  to  the  ground, 
but  the  open  space  filled  with  broken  bricks  and  huge  splinters 
shows  the  spot.  I  had  a  delightful  visit  to  Eliza  Dodd's  & 
they  gave  me  a  charming  welcome.  How  brightly  come  up 
before  me  the  memories  of  glorious  Eddie  Dodd,  the  hero  of  my 
childhood's  days,  who  dragged  you  out  of  the  marshy  water  on 
hearing  my  appealing  cry." 

That  torchlight  procession  was  in  Cass  and  Butler's 
campaign  against  Taylor  and  Fillmore  in  1848,  not  in 
Polk  and  Dallas'  successful  canvass  of  1844,  which  was 
too  early  for  our  infant  support  to  be  availing. 

"Romeo  and  Juliet"  at  Daly's  was  succeeded  by  a 
revival  of  "Le  Collier  de  la  Reine, "  on  March  26,  1896, 
and  this  was  followed  on  April  6  by  Miss  Rose  Coghlan  in 
"Madame,"  written  for  her  by  her  brother  Charles  Cogh- 
lan and  produced  under  the  management  of  Mr.  A.  M. 
Palmer.  After  a  run  of  three  weeks  Miss  Coghlan's  play 
was  withdrawn,  and  the  necromancer  Keller  entered 
upon  a  season  now  become  as  regular  an  event  as  that  of 
poor  Rosina  Yokes  used  to  be. 

There  were  some  compensations  for  the  disappoint- 
ments of  a  hard  season.  On  April  22,  1896,  the  Shake- 
speare Society  of  New  York,  through  its  president  Apple- 
ton  Morgan  and  a  committee,  gave  Mr.  Daly  a  dinner  as  a 
public  appreciation  of  his  devotion  to  the  highest  standards 
of  dramatic  excellence,  and,  most  especially,  of  his  success 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  593 

in  mounting  Shalcespearian  comedy.  Tiie  dinner  was 
held  in  Delmonico's  on  Wednesday,  April  22,  1896. 
There  were  about  eighty  guests.  Mr.  Walter  S.  Logan 
presided,  having  Mr.  Daly  on  his  right  and  Mr.  Appleton 
Morgan  on  his  left.  When  the  tables  were  cleared,  Mr. 
Logan  rose  and  said  : 

"We  are  here  to  honor  the  man  who  has  done  more  than  any 
other  man  that  lives  to  give  to  the  men  and  women  and  children 
of  this  generation  a  practical  realization  of  what  Shakespeare 
said  and  was." 

After  a  speech  by  Appleton  Morgan,  Mr.  Daly  made  an 
address,  in  which  he  said  : 

".  .  .  It  is  easy  to  decide  what  is  the  right  course  to  follow 
to  keep  the  theatre  up  to  high  standards.  There  is  no  difficulty 
in  deciding  what  is  elevating  and  healthful,  or  what  is  morbid 
and  degrading.  The  difficulty  lies  in  adhering  to  your  standard 
when  at  times  it  looks  as  if,  instead  of  the  people  flocking  to  it, 
you  had  to  flock  all  by  yourself. 

Some  may  say,  as  I  have  often  said  to  myself,  'Don't  give 
up  the  principle;  be  consistent;  you  know  you  are  right!' 
but  there  is  a  cold  cynicism  about  rows  of  empty  seats  which 
sometimes  chills  the  warmest  resolution.  The  difficulty  lies 
in  adhering  to  your  standard  in  the  face  of  discouragement. 
I  have  known  every  phase  of  the  struggle  to  make  the  play- 
house what  it  should  be  :  a  place  where  the  most  thorough  enter- 
tainment can  be  had  while  distinct  encouragement  is  given  to 
the  highest  literary  and  artistic  efi"orts. 

A  man  who  has  a  clear  purpose  in  what  he  does  is  apt  to  be 
a  man  of  single  purpose.  To  that  single  purpose,  rightly  or 
wrongly,  all  else  is  subordinated.  Fortunately,  —  and  un- 
fortunately, sometimes,  too,  —  everything  is  made  to  yield 
to  that  one  object.  Hence,  complaints  of  the  man's  method  of 
doing  business,  of  his  manners,  and  of  his  so-called  'peculiar 
ways.' 


594  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

Perhaps  it  does  not  tend  to  make  a  man  companionable  or 
sociable  or  clubable  to  have  engrossing  ambitions  and  unsatisfied 
longings  for  still  higher  achievements,  which  apply  a  continual 
spur  to  exertion.  It  does  not  make  a  man  tolerant  of  easy-going 
indifference,  nor  of  critical  raillery.  It  may,  in  truth,  sow  his 
path  with  small  resentments.  There  are  a  great  many  more 
talkers  than  doers  in  the  world.  If  the  workers  have  little  time 
to  spend  with  the  talkers,  the  talkers,  being  in  the  majority, 
make  up  a  reputation  for  them  the  reverse  of  agreeable.  But  this 
is  only  by  the  way. 

...  I  know  what  has  been  said  about  the  great  advantage 
to  a  country  to  have  a  theatre  supported  by  a  permanent  fund 
and  protected  from  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  owing  to  the 
fickleness  of  public  favor.  But  I  do  not  believe  the  end  is 
obtainable.  There  are  two  propositions  for  such  a  theatre  :  One 
is  an  establishment  by  the  Government.  But  that  might  as 
well  be  dismissed  at  once,  for  if  it  has  not  been  established  in 
Great  Britain,  which  has  produced  the  chief  literary  glories 
of  the  English  stage  and  a  succession  of  the  most  resplendent 
dramatic  geniuses,  under  managers  thoroughly  imbued  with  the 
correct  view  of  their  duty;  if  a  legislature  of  which  one  house 
includes  men  who  might  be  called  the  hereditary  patrons  of 
every  form  of  art,  —  if  such  a  Government  has  not  thought  it 
wise  or  feasible  to  establish  a  national  theatre,  we  have  no  reason 
to  expect  it  in  our  own  country. 

There  is  then  the  other  proposition  :  The  endowment  of  a 
national  theatre  by  private  subscription.  The  laudable  object 
in  view,  that  Is  to  say,  the  establishment  of  a  theatre  which 
should  be  kept  open  in  all  seasons  of  the  year,  so  as  to  afford  at 
all  times  rational  and  elevating  dramatic  entertainment,  would, 
I  am  quite  sure,  be  an  inducement  to  hundreds  of  men  of  means 
to  contribute  to  such  a  purpose;  and,  starting  with  that  pro- 
spective, I  could  paint  a  most  alluring  picture  of  a  dramatic 
millennium  in  this  country. 

I  would  picture,  to  begin  with,  five  or  more  of  our  great  cities 
having  each  endowed  such  an  institution  and  placed  it  in  charge 
of  a  competent  manager !     Because  I  do  not  for  one  moment 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  595 

imagine  that  the  end  in  view  will  be  attained  by  one  theatre 
in  one  city,  any  more  than  the  establishment  of  one  library  in 
one  city  would  satisfy  the  general  need.  Each  city  should, 
therefore,  have  its  own  endowed  theatre. 

Emulative  of  each  other's  efforts,  the  several  managers  would 
produce  the  most  novel,  the  most  original  and  the  most  resplen- 
dent effects,  and  these,  after  charming  their  own  public,  would  be 
exchanged  with  the  other  theatres  for  their  productions,  so  that 
the  whole  country  would  enjoy  in  succession  the  fruit  of  the 
highest  culture  in  the  most  fascinating  of  all  entertainments ; 
and,  amusement  and  instruction  going  hand  in  hand,  the 
public  would  be  gradually  weaned  from  all  lower  and  coarser 
forms  of  stage  attraction.  But  an  endowed  theatre,  like  a  silver 
purchase  bill,  would  have  a  host  of  enemies  from  the  start. 
And  here  would  begin  the  outcry.  Why  not  an  endowed 
magazine  or  an  endowed  daily  newspaper  ?  Why  give  one 
favored  profession,  that  of  the  stage,  life  offices  at  handsome 
salaries,  while  members  of  another  profession  have  to  struggle 
with  the  fickleness  of  the  public .''  And  you  may  imagine  what 
it  would  be  if  the  endowed  theatre  and  the  endowed  manager  did 
not  possess  the  entire  friendship  of  the  press.  The  public 
would  still  be  affected  by  the  criticism  of  its  favorite  news- 
papers, and  the  whole  effect  of  the  national  theatre  would  be 
lost  if  there  were  no  concurrence  of  opinions  favorable  to  its 
work. 

I  foresee  for  the  manager  of  such  a  theatre  a  life  of  trials, 
a  continual  running  the  gauntlet  of  critical  assaults  upon  the 
occasion  of  every  fresh  production  —  for  his  unfortunate  choice 
of  pieces  too  old  or  too  new,  for  his  unfortunate  leaning  to  a 
particular  school  of  the  drama,  for  his  unfortunate  choice  of 
performers,  to  begin  with,  by  which  with  signal  fatuity  he  selects 
for  the  luxurious  ease  of  the  endowed  establishment  the  very 
last  persons  whom  the  writers  would  have  named  for  that  house 
(not  that  any  two  writers  would  themselves  agree  on  this  point) ; 
for  his  unfortunate  distribution  of  cast  by  which  Mr.  Blank  (who 
would  have  been  an  ideal  Rosencranz)  has  been  so  oddly  dumped, 
so  to  speak,   into  the  part  of  Guildenstern,  while  the  many 


596  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

admirers  of  that  tried  and  charming  favorite,  Miss  Dash,  will 
learn  with  regret  that  she  has  been  gradually  supplanted  by- 
Miss  Starr,  who  has  little  besides  her  youth  and  a  certain  meas- 
ure of  good  looks  to  recommend  her. 

I  foresee  also  for  the  trustees  of  the  endowed  theatre  a  life 
of  wretchedness,  beginning  with  the  choice  of  a  manager.  If 
he  be  a  person  of  experience,  then  he  is  'surrounded  by  his 
favorites,'  and  no  beginner  has  a  chance  with  him  either  as 
actor  or  playwright,  and  we  shall  be  treated  to  his  well-known 
method  of  'overloading  the  classics  with  tinsel  and  noisy  music' 
If  he  be  a  person  of  no  experience,  then  the  novice  is  to  be 
educated  at  the  expense  of  the  stockholders,  whose  money  is  to 
be  frittered  away  in  experiments. 

Assailed  by  the  stockholders,  who  are  in  turn  tormented  by 
dark  insinuations  from  outside  on  all  these  topics,  and  as  many 
more  as  your  ingenuity  may  suggest,  the  managing  trustees  goad 
their  servant,  the  manager,  to  frenzy,  and  the  whole  establish- 
ment becomes  hopelessly  at  variance. 

And  when  a  production  of  the  endowed  theatre  fails  to  win 
popular  favor,  what  an  outcry !  And  this  is  sure  to  be  the  fate 
of  the  productions  there,  for  the  process  of  educating  the  public 
is  slow.  Then  comes  the  climax  - —  resignation  of  managers, 
resignation  of  directors,  stockholders  selling  out  in  disgust.  The 
quarrels  of  the  leaders  distract  the  public,  which  silently  repairs 
to  the  music  hall  again.  And  so  the  curtain  is  rung  down  on  the 
endowed  theatre. 

Perhaps  it  will  be  said  that  I  have  dwelt  upon  the  minor  vexa- 
tions attendant  upon  a  great  scheme,  forgetting  that  great  minds 
will  be  found  to  persevere  under  worse  irritations.  I  grant  it, 
and  managers  have  persevered  under  some  such  afflictions,  and 
have  resolutely  gone  on  and  trampled  upon  difficulty  after 
difficulty  —  disheartening  criticism,  covert  attack,  and  what 
is  harder  to  bear,  the  studied  ignoring  of  the  genuine  effort  of 
a  whole  lifetime.  But  such  managers  have  not  had  endowed 
theatres.  The  mental  and  moral  fibre  that  wins  in  such  con- 
flicts is  formed  by  conditions  of  grave  responsibility  which  can- 
not exist  when  the  success  or  failure  of  the  theatre  does  not 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  597 

depend  upon  the  favor  of  the  public  nor  upon  the  personal 
exertion  of  manager  and  company. 

An  endowed  theatre  will  be  always  subject  to  the  same  in- 
fluences which  affect  state  or  court  theatres  in  other  countries. 
And  the  most  potent  are  always  the  personal  wishes  and  pref- 
erences of  'the  powers  that  be.' 

.  .  .  And  what  a  debt  does  the  manager  owe  the  actor! 
Managers  have  not  the  reputation  of  recognizing  this  obligation. 
It  would  be  entirely  unjust  to  complain  of  the  want  of  it  in 
the  'janitor  manager,'  for  he  is  not  expected  to  know  what  an 
actor  is.  He  deals  with  combinations  only,  and  may  know  as 
little  of  their  component  parts  as  he  does  of  the  parts  of  his 
watch.  It  is  sufficient  for  him  that  they  go.  I  speak  of  the 
manager  who  has  trained  men  and  women  in  the  higher  walks 
of  the  drama,  who  has  been  more  pleased  to  see  the  first  dawn 
of  promise  in  a  beginner  than  to  see  growing  houses,  who  has 
exulted  in  seeing  his  company  play  to  great  audiences,  not  be- 
cause it  means  so  much  profit,  but  because  it  was  the  highest 
appreciation  of  his  creation  ;  and  the  creation  of  the  manager 
is  the  perfectly  acted  performance.  .  .  ." 

General  Porter  ended  his  speech  vi^ith  these  words  : 

"We  owe  a  debt  in  this  community  —  yes,  a  debt  on  two 
continents  now  —  to  Mr.  Daly  for  his  masterly  Shakespearian 
achievements.  He  has  won  the  title  due  to  honor  of  which  he 
can  never  be  dispossessed.  He  will  make  his  name  venerable  to 
posterity,  and  I  think  we  may  say  to  him  what  a  character  in 
Shakespeare  said  to  another:  'Sir,  I  have  nought  but  thanks 
for  you  and  so  have  my  parishioners,  for  our  senses  have  been 
well  tutored  by  you ;  you  are  a  good  member  of  the  common- 
wealth.'" 

About  this  time  the  old  "Dunlap  Society"  was  revived 
by  Augustin's  friend  and  early  patron  Douglas  Taylor, 
for  the  collection  and  preservation  of  records  relating 
to  the  theatre  in  America.  Taylor  was  a  lover  of  the 
theatre,  an  associate  of  most  of   the   famous  actors  and 


598  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

managers  of  his  time,  a  well-known  newspaper  man,  and 
once  a  political  power  in  New  York.  The  first  publication 
of  his  Dunlap  Society  (1896)  was  a  paper  by  the  Honorable 
Charles  P.  Daly,  entitled  "First  Theatre  in  America  ;  An 
inquiry  including  a  consideration  of  the  objections  that 
have  been  made  to  the  stage."  It  was  rewritten  by  the 
aged  jurist  from  a  paper  read  by  him  to  the  New  York 
Historical  Society  more  than  thirty  years  before,  and  pub- 
lished at  the  time  in  the  Evening  Post,  which  issued  it 
also  in  pamphlet  form.  Mr.  Taylor  wrote  to  Augustin 
that  "the  dear  old  judge  took  8  years  to  write  &  rewrite 
it." 

Before  my  brother  left  for  Europe  (July  i,  1896)  he 
was  much  grieved  by  the  loss  of  a  faithful  friend,  his 
colored  servant  Romey  Simmons.  News  of  another  death 
before  his  departure  greatly  shocked  Augustin.  Sir 
Augustus  Harris,  who  had  been  in  New  York  with  him  a 
few  months  before  to  produce  "Hansel  and  Gretel,"  died 
at  Folkestone  on  June  22.  Harris  became  an  actor  in 
1873  and  manager  of  Drury  Lane  Theatre  in  1879.  While 
manager,  he  was  elected  Sheriff  of  London,  and  was 
knighted  in  1891  on  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  the 
Emperor  of  Germany  to  England.  He  was  popular  with 
the  press,  and  was  the  recipient  of  an  address  and  testi- 
monial in  May,  1894,  "in  recognition  of  his  services  in 
reestablishing  opera  in  England." 

After  the  return  of  the  company,  including  James 
Lewis,  from  England,  news  came  of  the  death  of  that 
popular  and  esteemed  actor  at  his  country  place  in 
Westhampton,  Long  Island,  on  September  10,  1896,  of  an 
affection  of  the  heart.  His  loss  to  the  theatre  was  well- 
nigh  irreparable,  but  it  was  as  nothing  compared  to  the 
void  made  in  an  artistic  and  friendly  companionship  of 
twenty-five    years.     He    was    of    the    same    age    as    his 


Uc:r>     iA-.Wi- 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  599 

manager.  In  their  long  association  there  were  moments  of 
irritation  on  both  sides,  but  the  deep-seated  mutual  respect 
they  felt  made  such  diflFerences  trivial.  Lewis  regarded 
Daly  as  the  creator  of  his  career.  Of  all  the  thousands 
who  witnessed  Lewis'  impersonations,  none  enjoyed  them 
more  than  his  manager.  After  some  particularly  good 
bit,  Lewis  and  my  brother,  meeting  for  an  instant  behind 
the  scene,  would  exchange  a  glance  from  kindling  eyes. 
No  words  were  needed  to  tell  the  artist  that  he  had  ful- 
filled the  ideal  of  the  author  and  director.  Often,  on  the 
first  night  of  a  play  or  at  a  dress  rehearsal,  Lewis  would 
surprise  and  delight  the  manager  by  the  novelty  and  fe- 
licity of  his  make-up,  of  which  art  he  was  a  born  master. 
Without  being  grotesque  or  extravagant,  his  very  clothes 
talked.  He  once  appeared  in  a  hat  that  was  a  whole 
comic  almanac.  Some  critics  have  said  that  there  was  no 
variety  in  the  tones  of  his  voice,  that  whatever  his  disguise, 
he  was  always  Lewis ;  but  the  singular  fact  was  that  no 
matter  what  his  part  might  be,  the  voice  suited  it  perfectly. 

Glimpses  afforded  of  his  private  life  showed  that  his 
tastes  were  simple  and  altogether  domestic.  His  record 
was  that  of  a  well-ordered  life  spent  in  giving  innocent 
amusement  to  his  fellow  creatures. 

The  throng  in  church  was  a  great  representation  of 
personal  friends.  No  more  sincere  regard  ever  accom- 
panied a  pubhc  man  to  his  rest.     My  brother  wrote  to 

Miss  Rehan :  ^^o      1      i-       • 

bunday  Evenmg. 

I  went  to  his  house  last  night  after  dinner.  ...  I  could  not 
keep  back  my  tears.  He  had  been  studying  'Falstaff'  during 
Wednesday  afternoon,  &  teaching  the  Drew  &  Barrymore  chil- 
dren to  dance  in  the  early  evening.  .  .  . 

Abbey  and  myself  headed  the  band  of  Pallbearers  :  Drew 
and  Clarke :  Shoeffel  and  Sol  Russell :  Dr.  Curtis  &  Sampson 
followed.  .  .  . 

It  does  not  seem  possible  to  me.  ..." 


CHAPTER  XLVI 

Business  depression.  Mansfield  closes  the  Garrick  theatre  and  Palmer 
surrenders  Wallack's.  Daly's  aptitude  for  staging  musical  come- 
dies. Great  success  of  "The  Geisha."  Miss  Mabelle  Gdman. 
Miss  Isadora  Duncan.  The  regular  dramatic  season  opens  late 
with  "As  You  Like  It."  Death  of  Mrs.  Mary  Scott-Siddons,  of 
Sarony  and  of  Abbey.  Revival  of  "London  Assurance."  "Mem- 
ories of  Daly's  Theatres,"  by  E.  A.  Dithmar.  "The  School  for 
Scandal."  "Much  Ado  About  Nothing."  "The  Magistrate." 
"Guy  Mannering"  in  a  new  dress.  Forgotten  music  heard  again. 
"The  Wonder."  Revival  of  "The  Tempest"  well  received. 
Miss  Rehan  at  first  not  in  the  cast.  Last  night  of  the  season. 
Farewell  speech.  Miss  Rehan  has  suffered  from  overwork.  The 
manager  grateful  that  any  public  exists  for  dramatic  art.  "The 
Circus  Girl." 

The  present  season  continued  generally  to  be  as  un- 
favorable as  its  predecessor  to  the  "legitimate  drama." 
Mr.  Richard  Mansfield,  one  of  the  most  gifted  actors  of 
his  time,  was  not  only  forced  to  close  his  own  theatre  after 
three  days,  but  had  to  give  up  his  lease  before  he  had 
enjoyed  one  of  the  five  years  of  the  term.  Without 
citing  all  the  Instances  of  ill  success  this  year  and  next, 
it  is  enough  to  say  that  early  in  the  present  season  Mr. 
A.  M.  Palmer  was  compelled  to  surrender  his  theatre 
(formerly  Wallack's)  to  Mr.  Theodore  Moss,  the  proprietor, 
who  resumed  possession,  and  on  December  7,  1896,  restored 
its  old  and  honored  name.  Palmer  had  been  in  manage- 
ment twenty-five  years  and  had  occupied  at  least  four 
New  York  theatres.  He  claimed  to  be  merely  a  business 
man,  and  he  was  a  judicious  buyer  of  plays  that  had  made 
their  mark,  and  an  employer  of  actors  of  established  rcpu- 

600 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN    DALY  6oi 

tation.  He  expended  what  was  needed  upon  his  produc- 
tions, but  spent  nothing  upon  his  theatres.  He  was 
a  great  favorite  with  the  press,  owing  to  his  accessibiUty 
and  aflPabihty,  his  time  being  at  everybody's  disposal  and 
everybody  being  taken  into  his  confidence.  And  yet  he 
failed.  At  the  last,  he  tried  to  organize  among  individual 
managers  opposition  to  the  trusts  and  syndicates  which 
were  then  spreading  over  the  whole  theatrical  field ;  but 
the  fact  was  that  those  merchants  in  theatres  were  operat- 
ing along  his  own  line,  only  with  greater  capital  and  daring. 
Daly's  season  opened  on  September  9,  1896,  with  "The 
Geisha,"  a  pretty  musical  comedy  which  was  still  crowd- 
ing Daly's  Theatre  in  London.  As  far  back  as  1893  a 
New  York  critic  (in  The  Recorder,  February  22)  had 
written  : 

"Mr.  Daly  alone  of  all  our  managers  is  the  one  qualified  to 
establish  comic  opera  In  this  city.  Mr.  Daly  alone  combines 
the  essential  qualities  for  dealing  with  both  sides  of  the  foot- 
lights. .  .  .  He  alone  Is  an  actual  producer.  He  selects  and 
often  adapts  his  plays,  assigns  the  various  roles,  personally 
conducts  every  rehearsal  from  the  first  to  the  last,  directs  the 
painting  of  the  scenery,  supervises  the  making  of  the  costumes 
and  chooses  every  piece  of  furniture  used  upon  the  stage." 

In  the  "Geisha"  company  was  Miss  Mabelle  Gilman, 
who  had  been  engaged  in  San  Francisco  on  Mr.  Daly's 
last  visit  there.  She  was  but  eighteen  years  of  age,  a 
graduate  of  Mills  College,  and  a  pupil  of  Mme.  Julie 
Rosenwald.  After  her  apprenticeship  In  the  chorus  of 
Daly's  she  was  promoted  to  understudy  the  principals, 
and  in  a  subsequent  season  was  competent  to  take  leading 
roles,  as  she  possessed,  together  with  a  fine  voice,  fine 
features,  and  great  vivacity,  a  self-possession  and  endur- 
ance in  exacting  parts  remarkable  in  one  so  young.     My 


6o2  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

brother's  opinion  of  her  ingenuousness  as  well  as  of  her 
talent  was  freely  expressed  to  me.  Miss  Isadora  Duncan 
also  made  her  debut  as  one  of  the  geishas. 

"The  Geisha"  proved  such  a  favorite  that  it  was  played 
i6i  times  during  this  season,  and  was  even  revived  the 
following  year.  The  public  appetite  for  it  in  fact  was 
insatiable.  Towards  the  holidays  Miss  Nancy  Mcintosh 
and  Miss  Virginia  Earle  took  the  places  of  Miss  Dorothy 
Morton  and  Miss  Violet  Lloyd  when  those  ladies  went  on 
tour  with   the  piece. 

"As  You  Like  It"  on  November  23,  1896,  opened  the 
dramatic  season,  and  Miss  Rehan  was  welcomed  back  by 
a  large  audience.  Richman  was  Orlando,  Stevens  the 
banished  Duke,  Varrey  Adam,  and  Herbert  Gresham  ap- 
peared for  the  first  time  in  New  York  in   Touchstone. 

"As  You  Like  It"  had  been  produced  in  1869  in  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  for  the  charming  little  Mrs.  Scott- 
Siddons — Mary  Frances  Siddons.  News  came  from  Paris 
on  November  19,  1896,  of  the  death  of  that  fairy-like 
Rosalind;  only  a  few  months  before  she  had  turned  to 
my  brother  in  a  difficulty  as  to  an  old  friend.  In  the 
same  month  also  departed  one  of  the  best-known  men  in 
the  theatrical  world  —  Sarony  the  photographer,  in  his 
own  line  a  great  artist.  Hardly  more  than  a  week  before 
Sarony's  death,  Henry  E.  Abbey  had  died,  a  manager 
whose  success  was  not  equal  to  his  merits.  The  present 
Knickerbocker  Theatre  was  built  for  him,  and  opened  as 
Abbey's  Theatre  in  1893  with  Irving  in  "Becket."  It 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  syndicate  early  this  year. 

"London  Assurance"  was  brought  out  on  November  30, 
1896,  for  the  first  time  in  many  years.  It  was  now  pre- 
sented in  four  acts  instead  of  five,  and  with  costumes  not, 
as  customary,  in  the  current  fashion,  but  of  1840,  the  period 
of    the   play.     Why    "London   Assurance"    should    have 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  603 

retained  a  hold  upon  the  stage  was  as  much  a  subject  of 
discussion  in  the  press  as  why  it  should  be  classed  as  an 
"old  comedy."  It  was  a  modern  piece  —  its  author  Dion 
Boucicault  was  still  alive.  As  to  its  popularity,  its 
language  is  stilted,  its  sentiment  hollow,  and  its  incidents 
improbable;  but  its  theatrical  merit  is  in  its  actable  roles, 
especially  that  of  Lady  Gay  Spanker,  now  presented  by 
Miss  Rehan  for  the  first  time.  George  Clarke  was 
Dazzle,  Stevens  Sir  Harcourt,  Richman  Charles,  Gresham 
Meddle,  Varrey  Max  Harkaway,  Truesdell  Cool,  Herbert 
Dolly  Spanker,  Miss  Haswell  Grace,  and  Miss  Rutter  Pert. 
On  the  first  night  each  visitor  received  a  copy  of  "Mem- 
ories of  Daly's  Theatres,"  a  history  of  Daly's  productions 
written  by  Mr.  E.  A.  Dithmar,  and  privately  printed  for 
the  patrons  of  the  theatre. 

According  to  programme,  "The  School  for  Scandal" 
was  revived  on  December  14,  and  followed  by  "Much 
Ado  About  Nothing,"  splendidly  produced  for  the  first 
time  by  Mr.  Daly  on  December  21.  Devotion  to  dramatic 
art  was  never  better  shown  than  by  so  costly  a  production 
at  such  a  time.  The  theatre  might,  with  great  profit 
to  the  treasury,  have  been  given  over  entirely  to  the 
musical  productions  which  now  alone  seemed  likely  to 
fill  it.  "The  Geisha"  had  attained  its  hundredth  repre- 
sentation when  Shakespeare's  splendid  comedy  was 
produced. 

The  cast  of  the  play  presented  Gresham  as  Don  Pedro, 
Herbert  as  Don  John,  Craig  as  Claudio,  Richman  as 
Benedick,  Clarke  as  Leonato,  Power  as  Antonio,  Hazeltine 
as  Borachio,  Bosworth  as  Conrade,  McKay  as  Balthazar, 
Truesdell  as  the  Messenger,  Varrey  as  Friar  Francis, 
Griffiths  as  Dogberry,  Sampson  as  Verges,  Pratt  as  Seacoal, 
Shepherd  as  Oatcake,  Lewis  as  Sexton,  Miss  Rehan  as 
Beatrice,  Miss  Mcintosh  as  Hero,  Mrs.  Gilbert  as  Ursula, 


6o4  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Miss  St.  John  as  Margaret,  and  Miss  Hathaway  as  Imogen 
(mother  of  Hero,  and  never  before  this  time  recorded  as 
having  been  presented  on  the  stage).  The  play  concluded 
with  a  mediaeval  dance  by  the  principal  characters.  The 
scenery  was  painted  from  the  models  of  the  Theatre 
Odeon  of  Paris. 

Within  ten  years  prior  to  this  production,  "Much  Ado 
About  Nothing"  had  been  played  in  New  York  by  Henry 
Irving  and  Miss  Ellen  Terry,  by  Madame  Modjeska  as 
one  of  her  stock  pieces,  and  by  Lawrence  Barrett,  Edwin 
Booth,  and  Madame  Modjeska  together  in  a  special  season 
at  the  Broadway  Theatre  in  1889. 

It  was  remarked  that  the  most  striking  of  the  male 
characters  was  Herbert's  Don  John  of  Austria.  This  mere 
sketch  of  a  part  grew  by  the  actor's  dress  and  demeanor 
into  a  finished  picture  of  malignity.  A  lady  who  stepped 
in  one  night  from  light  opera  to  the  Shakespearian  stage, 
Miss  Nancy  Mcintosh,  played  Hero  with  sympathy. 
Miss  Rehan's  reading  of  Beatrice  was  based  upon  the  de- 
scriptive lines  "disdain  and  scorn  ride  sparkling  in  her 
eyes,"  but  nevertheless  she  had  evidently  been  "born 
under  a  merry,  dancing  star."  There  was  no  attempt 
among  the  journalists  to  compare  her  impersonation  with 
that  of  any  of  the  distinguished  actresses  who  had  been 
seen  in  the  part,  and  that  was  wise ;  for  Beatrice  is  a  role 
that  takes  on  the  personality  of  the  player.  We  cannot 
but  think  her  too  fine  a  spirit  for  any  of  the  men  about 
her,  and  we  cannot  but  feel  that  she  knew  it.  During 
the  preparation  of  the  revival,  Mr.  Furness  wrote  to  Miss 
Rehan  : 

"WalHngford,  Delaware  County,  Penn. 
Dear  Ada  Rehan, 

A  letter  from  him  whom  Mrs.  Gilbert  (bless  her)  calls  The 
Master  tells  me  that  you  are  to  act  Beatrice,  and  it  delights 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  605 

me.  A  delight  which  is  purely  unselfish  —  for  even  if  I  see  you 
therein,  which  is  doubtful,  I  cannot  hear  a  single  word.  There- 
fore I  am  all  the  more  anxious  for  Beatrice's  sake  that  you  should 
not  malign  her  and  Benedick  by  wrongly  emphasing  one  little 
phrase,  which,  as  far  as  I  know,  is  universally  misunderstood. 
'Tis  in  the  scene  in  the  Church  when  Beatrice  and  Benedick  are 
left  alone  after  poor  Hero  has  been  led  away  by  the  Friar  — 
Benedick  asks  'May  a  man  do  it.'"  and  Beatrice  replies  'It  is 
a  man's  office  —  not  yours.'  This  is  generally  accepted  as 
bitter  sarcasm,  which  I  think  is  utterly  wrong. 

It  is  really  a  confession  of  love,  and  should  be  uttered  sadly  — 
almost  tenderly.  Had  it  been  sarcasm.  Benedick  would  have 
been  stung  to  the  quick  —  whereas  it  elicits  almost  a  declara- 
tion of  love  on  his  part. 

It  was  a  man's  duty  inasmuch  as  the  quarrel  should  betaken 
up  by  a  brother  —  or  a  cousin,  or  a  very  near  relation.  The 
privilege  of  that  relationship  Benedick  had  not  then,  but  were 
he  Beatrice's  accepted  lover  —  then  he  might  claim  the  right  of 
vindicating  Hero's  honor.  And  in  Beatrice's  words  there  should 
be  heard  the  faint  echo  of  an  exquisite  confession  of  love. 

Of  course  I  am  gabbing  like  a  tinker  to  one  whose  thorough 
dramatic  instinct  had  detected  all  this  at  once,  but  I  tremble 
lest  this  instinct  should  be  overborne  by  tradition,  and  hence 
the  impertinence  of  thus  writing  to  you.  Forgive  —  tear  this 
up  and  remember  only  that  I  am 

Yours  full  of  admiration 
and  regard 

Horace  Howard  Furness. 
II  Oct.  96. 

I  have  written  in  such  a  hurry  I  cannot  think  what  I've  said  — 
re-read  I  dare  not." 

It  would  be  agreeable  to  linger  over  the  memories  of 
this  lovely  performance  of  "Much  Ado  About  Nothing," 
upon  which  my  brother  had  expended  himself,  and  of 
which  he  wrote  to  me  simply,  in  reply  to  my  letter  of 
congratulation  : 


6o6  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

"I'm  glad  you  liked  Much  Ado.  The  close  application  (in- 
cluding 3  nights  of  all  night  work)  nearly  laid  me  up." 

The  run  of  the  Shakespearian  comedy  was  prolonged 
until  well  into  the  new  year,  and  was  succeeded  by  a 
revival  of  Pinero's  "Magistrate"  on  February  8,  1897,  for 
the  first  time  in  nine  years.  Lewis'  part  {Mr.  Posket) 
was  first  essayed  by  Mr.  Edwin  Stevens,  and  after  he 
resigned  from  the  theatre,  by  Mr.  Tyrone  Power.  Drew's 
part  was  played  by  Gresham  and  Skinner's  by  Herbert  — 
both  with  excellent  effect. 

Scott's  "Guy  Mannering"  was  given  on  March  12  under 
the  name  of  "Meg  Merrilies,  or  the  Witch  of  Ellangowan, " 
with  the  original  music  by  Bishop.  Miss  Virginia  Earl 
{Flora),  Miss  Haswell  {Lucy),  Miss  Mcintosh  {Julia), 
Neil  McKay  {Harry  Bertram),  and  Gresham  {Dandie 
Dinmont)  rendered  the  almost  forgotten  airs  with  inspiring 
effect.  Tyrone  Power  was  Dominie  Sampson,  Mrs.  Gilbert 
Mrs.  McCandish,  Clarke  Hatteraick,  Sampson  Muckle- 
thrift,  Craig  Colonel  Mannering,  and  Herbert  Glossin.  In 
the  prologue  a  gypsy  dance  was  executed  by  Misses 
Isadora  Duncan,  Mabel  Thompson,  and  Helma  Nelson. 
The  prologue  was  a  feature  of  Mr.  Daly's  version,  and 
showed  the  destruction  of  the  homes  of  the  gypsy  tribe, 
an  act  which  inspired  the  then  youthful  Meg  Merrilies 
with  the  hatred  that  smouldered  in  her  spirit  ever  after. 
Miss  Rehan  played  Meg,  and  presented  vividly  the  con- 
trast between  the  wild  beauty  and  high  courage  of  the 
young  gypsy  and  her  stern  yet  not  repulsive  old  age.  The 
new  dramatized  version  was  the  work  of  Mr.  Robert 
Chambers,  and  was  based  partly  on  Scott's  novel  and 
partly  on  the  dramatization  of  it  by  one  Daniel  Terry, 
made  in  Scott's  lifetime  and  with  his  approval,  which  was 
used  by  Miss  Charlotte  Cushman  in  the  performances 
which  are  indissolubly  connected  with  her  fame. 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  607 

"The  Wonder:  A  Woman  Keeps  a  Secret  "  succeeded 
"Meg  Merrilies"  and  was  produced  March  23,  1897,  for 
the  first  time  in  twenty  years  in  New  York,  and  nearly 
two  hundred  years  after  it  came  from  the  pen  of  Susanna 
Freeman  CentHvre,  whose  posthumous  popularity  is 
greater  than  that  of  more  brilliant  contemporaries.  Mrs. 
Oldfield  was  the  first  Donna  Fiolante,  and  Ellen  Tree  one 
of  the  latest.  It  was  a  favorite  part  of  Mrs.  Jordan's. 
The  part  of  Violante  in  Miss  Rehan's  hands  was  developed 
to  the  utmost  of  its  enlivening  possibilities.  Richman  as 
Don  Felix,  the  perplexed  and  passionate,  made  a  conspic- 
uous success.  The  two  waiting  women,  Flora  and  Inis, 
have  always  been  conspicuous  stage  favorites,  and 
became  so  again  in  the  hands  of  Miss  Earle  (who  gave  a 
song  in  Spanish)  and  Miss  Grace  Rutter. 

On  April  6  "The  Tempest"  was  brought  out  for  the 
first  time  under  the  Daly  management,  and  completed  the 
important  list  of  old  plays  promised  for  the  season.  It 
had  been  long  in  preparation.  Percy  Anderson  designed 
the  dresses.  The  musicofArne  and  Purcell  was  arranged  by 
Mr.  Frederic  Ecke,  together  with  the  less  known  composi- 
tions of  Karl  Taubert  prepared  for  Maximilian  of  Bavaria. 
This  play  had  been  produced  as  a  spectacle  in  March,  1869, 
at  the  Grand  Opera  Flouse  under  the  lavish  proprietor- 
ship of  James  Fisk,  Jr.,  but  the  engagement  of  E.  L. 
Davenport  for  Prospero  lent  the  production  dignity. 
Davidge  was  then  Caliban  and  Frank  Mayo  Ferdinand. 
When  Burton  produced  "The  Tempest"  in  1853  he  was  the 
Caliban,  and  the  same  character  was  chosen  by  that  heavy 
tragedian,  Edward  Eddy,  for  his  production  a  little  later 
at  the  Bowery.  Eminent  comic  and  tragic  artists  are 
always  attracted  by  the  role.  The  expense  of  the  neces- 
sary machinery  for  the  wizard  effects  has  restrained  the 
frequent  staging  of  this  entrancing  play. 


6o8  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

George  Clarke  was  Prospero,  Richman  Ferdinand, 
Herbert  Alonzo,  Craig  Sebastian,  Hazeltine  Antonio, 
Varrey  Gonsalo,  Tyrone  Power  Caliban,  Gresham  Ste- 
phana, Griffiths  Trinculo,  Truesdell  Adrian,  Bosworth 
Francisco,  Miss  Mcintosh  Miranda,  and  Miss  Earle 
Ariel. 

Mr.  J.  Ranken  Towse  in  The  Evening  Post,  speaking  of 
this  being  the  first  representation  of  the  play  for  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century,  said  that  it  must  have  been  as 
great  a  novelty  to  the  vast  majority  of  the  assembled  au- 
dience as  "it  was  a  delightful  entertainment  to  all  who 
had  the  good  fortune  to  witness  it.  The  debt  that  the 
intelligent  playgoing  public  owed  to  Mr.  Daly  for  his 
preservation  of  many  notable  works  from  the  oblivion  to 
which  they  had  been  assigned  by  less  enterprising  and  less 
discerning  managers  was  already  heavy,  and  it  has  been 
increased  largely  by  this  his  latest  and  in  some  respects 
most  notable  and  successful  achievement,  the  ripe  product 
of  many  long  years  of  labor  and  experiment.  It  is 
probably  safe  to  say  that  this  fanciful  work  has  never  re- 
ceived more  delicate,  graceful  or  imaginative  poetical 
treatment." 

Miss  Rehan  was  not  in  the  cast,  and  the  Sun  said  that 
the  actual  novelty  of  this  first  night  was  Miss  Rehan  sitting 
in  front  looking  at  the  play. 

The  dramatic  season  closed  on  April  24,  1897.  In 
the  last  week  of  "The  Tempest"  Miss  Rehan  appeared 
as  Miranda  and  Miss  Haswell  as  Ariel,  Miss  Mcintosh 
and  Miss  Earle  being  fully  engaged  in  rehearsing  a  new 
musical  comedy.  Of  Miss  Rehan's  Miranda,  it  was  said 
that: 

"Simplicity,  the  most  difficult  thing  in  art  and  the  loveliest, 
has  not  at  any  time  been  more  completely  sustained  than  by  this 
artist  in  this  most  exacting  trial  of  her  resources  and  capacity." 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  609 

On  the  last  night  "Much  Ado  About  Nothing"  was 
revived  for  the  farewell,  and  everybody  was  called  before 
the  curtain.     Mr.  Daly  said  in  part : 

"I  am  glad  you  have  given  me  this  opportunity,  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  to  express  my  gratefulness  for  your  support  and 
encouragement.  It  has  been  a  season  of  most  arduous  labor, 
and  that  we  have  found  any  public  whatever  for  our  efforts  to 
maintain  the  best  traditions  of  what  is  best  in  the  drama  is 
indeed  a  thing  to  be  grateful  for. 

You  will  share  with  me  I  know  the  regret  that  Miss  Rehan's 
health  has  suffered  under  the  strain  of  the  creation  of  five  new 
parts,  for  that  is  her  record  since  last  October. 

Before  we  return  to  you  we  shall  have  visited  the  principal 
cities  of  England,  beginning  at  Stratford-on-Avon,  where  Miss 
Rehan  will  give  an  open-air  performance  of  Rosalind  in  August. 

Next  winter  we  shall  make  two  important  productions  — 
Shakespeare's  'Merchant  of  Venice,'  and  Joan  of  Arc  in  a  new 
stage  version  of  that  remarkable  history  prepared  expressly 
for  Miss  Rehan. 

These  hopes  and  promises,  I  trust,  will  help  to  keep  our  coming 
in  pleasurable  anticipation,  and  until  then  let  me  again  thank 
you  for  all  your  favor  this  season,  and  to  wish  you  for  Miss 
Rehan  and  my  company,  good  night." 

A  new  musical  play,  "The  Circus  Girl,"  was  brought 
out  at  once  (April  23,  1897),  and  filled  the  theatre  until  the 
beginning  of  summer;  its  withdrawal  then  was  only 
temporary,  and  its  run  was  resumed  before  the  autumn. 


CHAPTER  XLVII 

Charity  benefits.  Poor  Jennie  Worrell.  A  theatrical  critic  of  1847 
—  Douglas  Taylor.  Oakey  Hall  and  the  blues.  Gratitude  of  a 
debutante.  A.  M.  Palmer  takes  a  theatre  in  Chicago.  The 
Shakespeare  Society  raising  subscriptions  to  buy  Poe's  cottage. 
A  reminder  of  "Horizon."  The  Century  Magazine  and  Thacker- 
ay's correspondence.  Seymour's  drawings  for  "Pictorial  Pick- 
wickiana."  A  chief  of  police  "drops  into  poetry."  Sargent's 
portrait  of  Miss  Rehan.  Daly  company  in  England.  Open  air 
performance  at  Stratford  interrupted  by  a  sudden  shower.  Loving- 
cup  for  Sir  Spencer  Ponsonby.  Results  of  the  English  provincial 
tour.  New  York  season  of  1 897-1 898  begins  late,  with  "The 
Taming  of  the  Shrew."  Drop  in  the  business.  Available  plays, 
even  from  "the  German,"  scarce.  Daly's  depression  over  the 
prospect.  New  play,  "Number  9:  Or  the  Lady  of  Ostend,"  a  fail- 
ure here,  although  a  success  in  England.  "The  Merry  Wives  of 
Windsor"  revived.  Murder  of  Terriss.  Daly  as  a  bibliomaniac. 
January  i,  1898,  the  birthday  of  Greater  New  York.  Mayor  Van 
Wyck  appoints  Daly  on  the  Celebration  Committee.  "Sub- 
tleties of  Jealousy."  Last  performance  at  Daly's  of  "Twelfth 
Night,"  "The  Country  Girl,"  and  "As  You  Like  It."  "Lili  Tse." 
"La  Poupee."  Benefit  for  Rose  Coghlan.  Death  of  Mrs.  Drew 
the  elder. 

It  had  been  hard  work  to  keep  the  theatre  going  dur- 
ing the  past  two  or  three  seasons,  and  without  the 
aid  of  the  musical  plays  it  might  have  been  impossible ; 
but  Daly  had  as  usual  been  able  to  give  his  theatre  and 
company  for  several  charity  benefits,  which  netted  large 
returns  for  their  objects,  and  to  alleviate  the  distresses 
of  some  of  the  waifs  and  strays  of  the  profession ;  among 
others,  poor  Jennie  Worrell,  who  often  related  her  troubles 
to  him  in  her  wild  way  and  terrible  scrawl.  She  wrote 
at  last : 

610 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  6ii 

"Dear  Tony  Pastor  and  yourself  have  been  the  only  two  fast 
friends  which  have  stuck  to  me  in  the  hour  of  need.  These 
ladies  have  been  more  than  kind  but  I  cannot  ask  them  too 
much.  A  little,  dear  Mr.  Daly,  will  start  me  on  the  road  of 
life  once  more  and  give  me  the  chance  to  be  something  like  the 
Jennie  Worrell  of  old.  ...  A  line  to  let  me  know  I  am  not 
forgotten  by  all.  .  .  .     With  kindest  memories." 

Among  the  visitors  to  "The  Tempest"  was  our  old 
friend  Douglas  Taylor,  who  was  not  only  president  of 
the  Dunlap  Society,  but  as  he  said,  "a  theatrical  critic 
of  1847."  It  may  be  noted  here  that  Mr.  Taylor  sur- 
vived until  191 2,  with  his  love  of  literature,  the  drama, 
old  friends,  and  old  associations  undiminished.  Another 
old  friend,  A.  Oakey  Hall,  was  always  bidden  to  the 
Shakespearian  first  nights.  This  year  he  wrote  to  my 
brother,  "Your  cheery  letter  modifies  my  now  habitual 
blues,  for  it  is  so  hard  to  be  a  'has  been,'  as  in  my  70th 
year,  I  realize  that  I  am."  He  was  a  steadfast  journalist 
to  the  last,  however,  and  ever  young  in  spirit.  He  died 
in  October,  1898,  and  the  journals  of  the  day  noticed  at 
length  the  passing  of  a  man  associated  in  the  public 
mind  exclusively  with  the  active  politics  of  New  York, 
but  who  cared  far  less  for  them  than  for  books  and  the 
stage. 

The  manager's  correspondence  shows  that  in  his  dra- 
matic company  he  had  placed  more  than  one  protege  of 
old  friends,  among  them  Miss  Marie  Stuart,  niece  of  Miss 
Blanche  Willis  Howard,  and  Eric  Scott,  son  of  Clement 
Scott.  A  letter  from  a  young  lady  newly  become  a  mem- 
ber of  the  company  thanks  him  for  the  arrangements 
made  for  the  comfort  of  the  players  while  travelling ; 
she  supposes  that  "the  company  is  so  spoilt  that  they 
take  it  all  as  a  matter  of  course";  but  herself  thinks 
"they  have  the  kindest  'governor'  in  the  world."     A.  M. 


6l2  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

Palmer  writes  (December,  1896)  that  he  has  begun  in  a 
new  field  and  taken  the  management  of  the  Great 
Northern  Theatre  in  Chicago.  A  letter  from  Mr.  Har- 
rison Grey  Fiske  states  that  the  New  York  Shakespeare 
Society  is  raising  by  subscription  a  fund  to  buy  the  Poe 
Cottage ;  and  Augustin  is  reminded  of  his  early  play 
"Horizon"  by  a  letter  from  Mr.  Atherton  Burnett  of 
the  Boston  Press  Club,  who  believes  that  that  play  had 
served  as  inspiration  for  the  authors  of  "The  Girl  I  Left 
Behind  Me,"  "Shenandoah,"  "Northern  Lights,"  and 
other  popular  American  dramas. 

Augustin  had  the  pleasure  of  obliging  (or  trying  to  oblige) 
his  friends  of  the  Century  Magazine,  who  contemplated 
a  paper  on  Thackeray's  correspondence,  by  placing  at 
their  disposal  his  collection  of  the  great  novelist's  letters 
to  Mrs.  Brookfield,  which  he  had  acquired  a  short  time 
before  from  a  London  bookseller  (Pearson).  The  consent 
of  Smith  &  Elder,  who  had  the  copyright  of  Thackeray's 
writings,  had  to  be  obtained,  and  also  the  permission 
of  Mrs.  Ritchie,  the  novelist's  daughter.  The  latter 
was  not  procurable,  and  the  collection  was  returned  to 
Mr.  Daly.  He  also  complied  with  the  request  of  Mr. 
Frank  Sabin  on  behalf  of  Mr.  Joseph  Grego  for  the  use 
of  his  collection  of  Seymour's  original  drawings  for  "Pick- 
wick Papers  "  (bought  at  Sotheby's  in  1889)  for  Mr. 
Grego's  book,  "Pictorial  Pickwickiana,"  which  was  to 
be  published  by  Chapman  &  Hall,  and  which  to  be  com- 
plete required  the  series  in  Mr.  Daly's  possession.  It  was 
"the  most  important  and  interesting  feature  of  the  pub- 
lication," according  to  Mr.  Grego,  who  thought  that  the 
last  sketch,  "The  Pickwickians  in  Wardle's  Kitchen," 
disproved  the  contention  that  Seymour's  illustrations 
grew  out  of  the  narrative,  because  when  the  unfortunate 
artist  put  an  end  to  his  career  there  were  only  twenty-four 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  613 

pages  of  Pickwick  in  type,  and  the  scene  depicted  in  the 
sketch  occurs  on  page  50. 

Those  who  believe,  upon  authority  with  which  we  are 
famiHar,  that  a  policeman's  lot  is  not  a  happy  one,  must 
reckon  with  the  instances  in  which  those  stern  guardians 
are  found  courting  the  muses.  When  Mr.  Peter  Conlin 
was  appointed  Chief  of  Police  of  New  York  (February, 
1896),  my  brother  recalled  that  the  appointee  was  the 
brother  of  William  J.  Florence,  and  was  a  small  boy  in 
the  old  days  of  Grand  and  Ridge  streets  when  the  Bry- 
ants and  "Billy"  were  amateur  minstrels  thereabouts, 
and  so  wrote  him  a  letter  of  congratulation ;  to  which 
the  chief  replied  in  a  handsome  epistle,  concluding  a  la 
Wegg: 

"Those  happy  days  of  boyhood  !     I  think  of  them 

Oft  in  the  stilly  night 

Ere  slumber's  chains  have  bound  me. 
And  it  is  then  that 

Fond  mem'ry  brings  the  light 

Of  other  days  around  me." 

And  he  thanks  Mr.  Daly  again  for  his  very  kind  letter. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Mrs.  Kate  Whitin,  Mr.  Daly 
had  the  pleasure  of  exhibiting  for  a  season  in  the  lobby 
of  the  theatre  Sargent's  portrait  of  Miss  Rehan.  The 
photographs  of  this  admirable  picture  do  not  convey  an 
adequate  idea  of  the  artist's  work. 

The  Daly  company  sailed  for  England  in  the  summer 
of  1897.  The  English  season  began  with  the  open  air 
performance  of  "As  You  Like  It"  on  the  lawn  of  the 
Shakespeare  Memorial  at  Stratford.  The  occasion  was 
made  much  of  by  the  London  and  provincial  journals 
and  by  the  American  papers.  Miss  Frances  Johnston 
went  down  from  London  to  take  pictures  for  Harper' s. 


6 14  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

A  summer  shower  in  the  midst  of  the  performance  com- 
pelled the  players  and  the  audience  to  adjourn  to  the 
Memorial  Theatre,  which  was  immediately  filled  from 
bottom  to  top ;  a  great  throng  had  to  remain  in  the 
lobbies.  On  May  lo,  1898,  Mr.  Hutchings,  Mayor  of 
Stratford,  wrote  that  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Memorial  had  "honored  themselves  and  the  institution" 
by  making  Miss  Rehan  a  Life  Governor,  and  wished  Mr. 
Daly  to  tell  her  that 

"we  find  she  is  now  as  thoroughly  identified  with  our  good 
old  Town  and  all  its  prized  associations  as  if  she  lived  amongst 
us,  as  I  know  she  does  in  spirit." 

The  Governors  of  the  Memorial  thanked  Mr.  Daly 
(October  23,  1898)  for  a  bronze  bust  of  Miss  Rehan  as 
Katherine,  which  they  placed  in  the  library  building. 

From  Stratford  the  company  went  to  Newcastle,  Bir- 
mingham, Nottingham,  Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  London, 
Liverpool,  and  Manchester.  Performances  in  London 
were  given  at  the  Grand  Theatre,  Islington,  for  two  weeks 
to  audiences  that  filled  that  vast  playhouse  to  see  "The 
Taming  of  the  Shrew,"  "Twelfth  Night,"  "The  School 
for  Scandal,"  and  "The  Last  Word."  These  occasions, 
the  last  on  which  the  members  of  the  Daly  company 
were  seen  together  in  Europe,  received  very  appreciative 
notices  and  were  graphically  illustrated  in  the  picture- 
papers.  The  English  tour  terminated  on  October  25, 
1897,  and  the  company  returned  to  America. 

Before  he  himself  sailed  for  home,  Augustin  joined  in 
the  movement  got  up  among  theatrical  people  in  Lon- 
don to  present  Sir  Spencer  Ponsonby  Fane  with  a  silver 
loving  cup  on  the  occasion  of  his  golden  wedding  an- 
niversary. My  brother's  fifty-ninth  birthday  was  cele- 
brated by  a  little  fete  with  friends  in  London.     My  letter 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  615 

of  congratulation  reached  him  in  time  for  a  reply  on  the 
day  itself.  He  speaks  of  convalescence  after  an  opera- 
tion, and  says  that  he  was  up  and  out  after  it  so  soon 
that  "they  call  me  a  very  remarkable  man.  But  you 
know  out  of  doors  is  my  best  tonic;"  and  he  concludes 
with  reference  to  his  coming  season  in  New  York  : 

"I  think  everything  would  go  well  with  me  at  home  if  I 
had  a  new  play  —  but  I  seem  to  search  in  vain  for  one." 

Of  the  English  tour  just  finished  he  wrote  on  September 
23  from  Edinburgh.  "An  original  old  Scotch  mist  — 
varying  between-times  to  a  braw  wee  bit  of  a  Caledonian 
drizzle"  had  settled  upon  the  town: 

"So  far  our  English  tour  has  filled  our  hearts  with  pride, 
but  alas  !  our  pockets  (or  mine  at  least)  have  not  been  filled 
with  pounds,  no,  nor  even  with  pence  —  emptied  of  both, 
rather.  But  we  hear  on  all  sides  'the  country  is  poor.'  Bir- 
mingham was  an  exception,  there  we  had  both  praise  and  pence. 
Indeed  the  enthusiasm  was  almost  London-like,  while  my  re- 
ceipts were  quite  as  good  as  Boston  gave  me  last  spring  and 
autumn. 

I  shall  be  glad  to  get  home.  Indeed  I  have  been  homesick 
any  time  the  past  month.  Have  had  excellent  health  until 
the  Newcastle  week,  when  I  felt  the  results  of  the  open-air 
business  at  Stratford  —  a  malarial  fever  and  a  cold.  ...  I 
am  quite  over  that,  however,  and  am  now  feeling  more  myself. 

I  got  two  very  good  plays  here :  one  an  admirable  farce 
comedy  (German),  one  of  a  higher  order  (French).  I  want  to 
open  in  one  or  the  other  Nov.  20." 

The  new  plays  of  which  Augustin  wrote  hopefully  were 
"Number  9:  Or  The  Lady  of  Ostend,"  and  "The  Three 
Daughters  of  M.  Dupont." 

The  New  York  season  began  on  August  16,  1897,  with 
the  resumption  of  "The  Circus  Girl,"  which  continued 


6i6  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

until  November  8,  when,  after  a  brief  revival  of  "The 
Geisha,"  the  regular  dramatic  season  commenced.  On 
November  29,  "The  Taming  of  the  Shrew"  was  wel- 
comed by  a  brilliant  house.  Wilfred  Clarke  played 
Grumio ;  he  was  an  ideal  impersonator  of  Shakespearian 
clowns.  Augustin  wrote  me  that  the  next  night  was 
"beastly  bad."  He  sent  me,  with  this  note,  a  comedy 
by  von  Schonthan,  "Jugendfreunde,"  just  received. 
I  found  it  enjoyable  in  dialogue,  with  contrasting  char- 
acters, but  of  very  light  texture,  and  a  plot  not  likely  to 
excite  serious  interest. 

On  December  3  (when  I  got  the  customary  birth- 
day letter  from  him)  I  found  that  my  brother  was  harassed 
by  "a  long  rehearsal,"  and  anxious  about  Miss  Rehan's 
health  and  the  state  of  business,  but  wondering  whether 
he  might  not  "rust  into  nothingness"  if  he  did  not  "have 
two  or  three  things  at  a  time  to  worry  about." 

It  was  a  rehearsal  of  "Number  9:  Or  the  Lady  of 
Ostend  "  that  he  found  so  fatiguing.  The  play  was 
brought  out  on  December  9,  1897.  It  was  an  adapta- 
tion by  Sir  Francis  Burnand  from  the  German  of  Blu- 
menthal  and  Kadelburg,  and  the  result  was  what  in  old 
days  would  have  been  styled  "a  screaming  farce."  A 
moving  picture  of  the  beach  at  Ostend  discloses  a  gentle- 
man (who  has  a  wife  at  home)  seated  cosily  beside  a  young 
woman  who  happens  to  be  the  betrothed  of  a  highly 
sensitive  professional  pugilist.  That  jealous  individual 
recognizes  the  group  in  a  moving  picture  show,  and 
thenceforth  devotes  himself  with  blood  in  his  eye  to  the 
pursuit  and  discovery  of  the  married  gentleman.  The 
play  was  for  many  years  attractive  to  British  audiences, 
but  it  made  no  impression  at  Daly's.  It  was  exceedingly 
well  acted  by  Richman,  Joseph  Herbert,  Cyril  Scott, 
Owen,  Hazeltine,  Pratt,  Mrs.  Gilbert,  Miss  Irene  Perry 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  617 

(her  first  appearance  at  this  theatre),  and  Miss  Lettice 
Fairfax,  who  made  in  it  her  first  appearance  in  the  Daly 
company.  Both  young  ladies  were  most  favorably  noticed 
by  the  press,  and  Mr.  Richman  was  particularly  com- 
mended for  his  playing  of  an  Irish  gentleman — always 
a  popular  role,  by  the  way,  on  the  American  stage.  The 
whole  performance  was  on  the  plane  of  comedy  rather 
than  of  farce.  "Number  9"  lasted  three  weeks,  and  "The 
Geisha"  was  put  on  until  December  20,  when  "The 
Taming  of  the  Shrew"  was  revived.  Preparations  were 
being  pushed  forward  for  the  production,  after  twelve 
years,  of  "The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor." 

In  the  month  of  December,  1897,  William  Terriss  was 
assassinated  at  the  stage  door  of  the  Adelphi  Theatre, 
London,  by  a  worthless  character  whom  he  had  often 
befriended.  The  crime  was  the  murderous  impulse  of  a 
low  intelligence  degenerating  into  insanity.  Poor  Ter- 
riss was  taken  into  the  theatre,  and  there  died,  sur- 
rounded by  his  afflicted  associates.  His  father  was  a 
barrister  and  his  mother  a  niece  of  George  Grote,  the 
historian.  In  many  of  Irving's  productions  he  was  a 
striking  figure,  sharing  with  Irving  and  Miss  Ellen  Terry 
the  affectionate  regard  of  the  Lyceum  audiences.  In 
the  title  role  of  "Henry  VIII  "  he  was  a  marked  con- 
trast, in  manner  and  makeup,  to  the  Angevine  monarch 
whom  he  impersonated  in  "Becket,"  and  all  his  parts 
showed  versatility  and  accuracy.  When  Irving  brought  his 
company  to  America,  the  public  looked  for  the  coming  of 
Terriss  with  almost  the  interest  excited  by  the  great  stars. 
His  death  was  deeply  felt  by  my  brother,  whose  re- 
lations of  business  and  friendship  with  him  dated  back 
fifteen  years. 

"The  Taming  of  the  Shrew"  and  "As  You  Like  It" 
were  followed  by  "The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor"   on 


6i8  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

January  ii,  1898.  George  Clarke  essayed  for  the  first 
time  on  any  stage  the  notable  part  of  the  fat  Knight. 
Miss  Rehan's  Mistress  Ford  and  Mrs.  Gilbert's  Mrs. 
Quickly  were  all  that  were  left  of  the  cast  of  a  dozen  years 
before. 

New  Year's  Eve  was  celebrated  in  the  Woffington  room 
as  usual,  with  a  few  friends.  My  Christmas  was  marked 
by  an  interesting  gift  from  Augustin,  which  came  with 
this  letter : 

"When  I  was  in  Auld  Scotia  this  year  I  got  the  Scott  fever 
very  bad.  It  took  later  the  form  of  '  uncut  and  original  boards ' 
(because  I  got  some  bargains  that  way)  but  I  had  nearly  re- 
covered from  the  milder  form  (the  form  in  which  I  turn  it  over 
to  you)  of  first  editions  bound  ;  and,  as  you  will  see  on  examin- 
ing into  your  'case,'  it  was  a  nearly  completed  cure.  Only  one 
set  is  missing,  which  I  am  promised,  and  will  send  you  when 
it  comes.  With  my  heart's  best  wishes  for  a  merry  Christmas 
and  a  happy  New  Year." 

The  first  editions  of  Scott's  novels,  beginning  with 
"  Waverley"  (three  volumes,  1814),  now  sent  to  me  lacked 
the  "Tales  of  a  Grandfather"  series;  but  it  contained 
the  rarest  of  all  the  novels,  "Waverley."  Augustin  was 
acquiring  for  himself,  as  he  said,  a  set  in  the  original 
boards.  Some  idea  of  the  scarcity  and  value  of  that  set 
may  be  formed  from  the  price  he  had  to  pay  for 
"Waverley"  alone  —  £165.  He  obtained  another  set  of 
first  editions,  uncut,  gilt  top,  bound  in  full  levant. 

New  Year's,  1898,  was  the  birthday  of  "Greater  New 
York,"  when  the  city  was  absorbed  into  an  artificial 
metropolis  including  Brooklyn  in  Kings  County,  parts  of 
Queens  and  Westchester  counties,  and  the  whole  of 
Staten  Island.  Formerly  cities  became  great  by  natural 
growth ;  but  the  modern  way  is  to  make  them  great  by 
legislation.     The  New  York  Herald  published  on  January 


Arcu'STiN'  Daly  in  189S 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  619 

I,  1898,  a  special  page  for  which  it  requested  from 
prominent  citizens  a  sentiment  for  the  occasion.  Augus- 
tin  wrote  in  substance  that  his  best  wish  for  the  new  city 
and  the  new  year  was  more  individualism  and  less  cor- 
porate commercialism  in  the  drama.  Early  in  Febru- 
ary the  new  Municipal  Assembly  authorized  the  Mayor 
(Robert  A.  Van  Wyck)  to  appoint  a  committee  on  "cele- 
bration of  the  consolidation,"  and  he  appointed  Mr. 
Daly,  with  others,  on  February  14. 

"Twelfth  Night"  was  revived,  for  the  last  time  on  Daly's 
stage,  January  25,  1898.  "The  Country  Girl,"  also 
revived  for  the  last  time,  soon  followed  (February  11) 
with  a  wholly  new  cast  in  support  of  Miss  Rehan's  de- 
lightful Peggy  Thrift.  A  comedietta  from  the  French  of 
Edmond  Pailleron,  adapted  by  Sidney  Rosenfeld  and 
called  "Subtleties  of  Jealousy,"  preceded  Wycherly's 
comedy,  and  was  played  by  Miss  Rehan  {Nell  Yerance), 
Miss  Perry  (Henrietta),  Richman  {Paul  Yerance),  and 
Hazeltine  {A  Physician).  Subsequently  a  charming 
Japanese  operetta  in  one  act,  "Lili  Tse,"  succeeded  the 
comedietta  as  "curtain  raiser"  to  "The  Country  Girl," 
and  was  found  quite  fascinating.  The  book  was  by 
Wolfgang  Kirchback  and  the  music  by  Franz  Curti. 
Misses  Marguerite  Lennon,  Marie  St.  John,  and  Belle 
Harper,  and  Messrs.  Frank  Rushworth,  Arthur  Cunning- 
ham, and  Clement  Hopkins  appeared  in  it.  "The  Coun- 
try Girl"  proved  to  be  the  most  attractive  of  the  old 
comedy  revivals  this  season,  and  was  played  fifty-five 
times. 

On  March  16  "The  School  for  Scandal"  was  put  on, 
and  on  March  25  "The  Geisha,"  for  the  last  time  in 
this  theatre.  A  scene  from  "The  Geisha,"  by  the  way, 
was  given  In  December  by  the  Daly  company,  at  the 
request  of  Mr.  Charles  Frohman,  for  the  benefit  of  Miss 


620  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

Rose  Coghlan  at  the  Broadway  Theatre.  It  was  a  marked 
indication  of  the  low  ebb  of  legitimate  theatrical  business 
that  an  actress  so  capable  and  valuable  should  be  with- 
out a  permanent  engagement. 

The  last  week  of  the  dramatic  season  was  made  inter- 
esting by  repetitions  of  "The  Taming  of  the  Shrew" 
(April  ii)  —  in  which  a  new  member  of  the  Daly 
company,  Miss  Blanche  Bates,  made  her  debut  in 
Bianca  —  and  by  the  last  performance  of  "As  You  Like 
It"  (April  13)  in  New  York  by  the  Daly  company. 

The  dramatic  company  went  on  tour  until  June  7, 
when  it  separated  for  the  season,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daly  and 
Miss  Rehan  sailing  for  Europe.  After  the  last  Shake- 
spearian night  recorded  above,  Daly's  stage  was  oc- 
cupied by  a  musical  comedy,  "La  Poupee,"  the  music 
by  Edmond  Audran  and  the  book  by  Maurice  Ordon- 
neau  and  Arthur  Sturgess.  The  cast  was  excellent. 
Misses  Earle,  Lewis,  Hornick,  Harper,  Rutter,  Carlisle, 
Gordon,  and  Clements,  and  Messrs.  Powers,  Gresham, 
Joseph  Herbert,  Celli,  Rushworth,  Truesdell,  Gilbert, 
Aitken,  and  Taylor  having  parts.  After  the  second 
night  Miss  Mabelle  Gilman  substituted  for  Miss  Earle  in 
the  principal  role  for  two  weeks,  and  went  through  the 
long  and  difficult  part  with  a  precision,  confidence,  and 
skill  remarkable  in  so  young  an  actress  and  singer.  "La 
Poupee"  was  not  a  success.  "The  Circus  Girl"  had  to 
be  put  on,  and  kept  the  boards  until  June  5. 

During  the  past  season  the  theatre  in  America  had 
suffered  the  loss  of  a  personage  respected  and  admired  for 
over  half  a  century.  This  was  Mrs.  John  Drew  the  elder, 
manager  of  the  Arch  Street  Theatre  in  Philadelphia  for 
thirty  years,  and  the  mother  of  John  Drew  and  of  Georgie 
Drew  (Mrs.  Maurice  Barrymorc).  My  brother  had 
known  Mrs.  Drew  as  far  back  as  the  days  of  his  earliest 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  621 

dramatic  success,  In  the  sixties.  Her  biographers  tell  of 
her  first  appearance  in  1818  (as  an  infant  in  arms  in  a 
farce)  and  of  her  last  appearance  in  May,  1897,  for  a  bene- 
fit. She  was  therefore  before  the  footlights  practically  all 
her  life ;  and  she  was  one  of  those  gracious  personages 
whose  fidelity  to  the  true  mission  of  the  drama  has  tended 
to  preserve  it  from  decay. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII 

Clyde  Fitch's  "Gossip"  and  "Nathan  Hale."  Harold  Frederic's 
play.  An  Italian  author.  Jose  Echegaray's  "Son  of  Don  Juan." 
Olive  Logan's  untiring  work;  "Adzuma"  by  Sir  Edwin  Arnold; 
a  play  on  the  Edwin  Drood  mystery  and  one  about  Edgar  Allan 
Poe.  Paul  Blouet.  Melodrama  of  an  extinct  species.  "Jarman's 
Own,"  by  Hibbard,  accepted;  also  "A  King  and  a  Few  Dukes"  by 
Chambers,  and  "Cupid's  Insurrection,"  re-written  by  Ford.  Mrs. 
Craigie  and  Mrs.  Rohlfs  in  the  field.  Thomas  Nelson  Page's 
"In  Old  Virginia."  A.  C.  Wheeler  to  collaborate  with  John 
Kendrick  Bangs.  Mallory's  "Kitty  Clive."  "La  Belle  Grelee." 
"Tess  of  the  d'Urbervilles."  Pinero  hesitates  to  compete  with 
"The  Great  Ruby."  Oscar  Wilde.  "Henry  IV"  in  preparation. 
"Jeanne  d'Arc"  by  Fabre.  Scribe's  "Tales  of  the  Queen  of 
Navarre."  "The  Three  Daughters  of  M.  Dupont."  Costumes 
for  "Adrienne  Lecouvreur." 

We  have  noticed  that  for  some  time  past  Augustin  had 
been  searching  vainly  for  a  new  play  suited  to  his  com- 
pany and  worthy  of  its  reputation.  This  summer  the 
quest  was  renewed  with  no  better  result : 

"London,  June  28,  1898. 

...  I  have  been  the  rounds  of  the  theatres  since  I  arrived, 
but  found  nothing  I  could  get  that  I  would  have,  &  nothing  I 
would  have  that  I  could  get.  A  bright  play  'His  Excellency  the 
Governor'  by  a  new  author,  produced  just  before  I  arrived,  I 
found  really  clever  &  full  of  good  situations  and  dialogue,  but 
of  course  the  syndicates  had  it.  They  have  everything,  &  I 
believe  it  would  take  $25,000  risked  outright  to  break  their 
monopoly  of  'options'  here.  I  have  just  finished  going  over 
Sans  Gene,  &  sent  it  to  the  copyists  so  Miss  R.  can  get  her  part 

622 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY  623 

to  study.  I  have  hopes  of  making  a  success  with  that.  The 
musical  plays  that  I  have  are  good  —  but  The  Slave  Girl  is 
hardly  a  second  Geisha  and  The  Runaway  Girl  is  much  behind 
The  Circus  Girl,  though  it  has  a  lot  of  good  things  in  it.  .  .  ." 

The  eflfort  to  find  the  right  kind  of  play  had  been  going 
on  for  five  years  at  home  as  well  as  abroad.  Clyde 
Fitch  was  at  work  as  early  as  1894  on  a  play  for  Mr. 
Daly  which  he  called  "Gossip,"  altering  it  from  time  to 
time  in  accordance  with  the  manager's  suggestions 
(Mr.  Fitch  acknowledged  his  indebtedness  to  a  romance 
of  Jules  Claretie  and  to  the  collaboration  of  Mr.  Leo 
Dietrichstein).  The  part  of  Mrs.  Baird  (designed  for 
Miss  Rehan)  having  been  found  not  congenial,  the  play 
was  returned,  and  the  following  year  was  produced  by 
Mrs.  Langtry  at  Palmer's.  In  September,  1897,  Mr. 
Fitch  completed  a  drama  on  the  story  of  the  ill-fated 
Nathan  Hale,  but  this  was  not  in  the  line  of  Daly's 
Theatre.  In  1895  Mr.  Daly  received  a  play  from  Mr. 
Harold  Frederic  and  one  from  Mrs.  Annie  Viventi 
Chartres,  a  distinguished  Italian  author,  who  was  intro- 
duced to  the  manager  by  the  Italian  Ambassador  Baron 
Fava.  A  Spanish  play,  "The  Son  of  Don  Juan"  by 
Jose  Echegaray,  was  submitted  by  Mr.  John  Graham. 
Mr.  Daly  thought  it  suitable  for  Mansfield,  and  advised 
that  it  be  sent  to  him.  Mrs.  Olive  Logan  Sikes  proposed 
a  short  play,  "The  Librarian,"  in  1893;  in  1894  "Sun- 
beam" with  a  part  for  Miss  Cissie  Loftus;  and  in  1899  a 
semi-political  drama  of  the  days  of  Henry  Clay  and  "An 
Adirondack  Adventure."  Interesting  proposals  were 
those  of  Sir  Edward  Arnold  (1893)  with  his  Japanese 
play  "Adzuma,"  of  James  J.  Dodd  with  a  new  version 
of  the  Edwin  Drood  mystery,  and  of  Henry  Tyrrell  with 
a  one-act  play  of  which  the  hero  was  Edgar  Allan  Poe. 
Miss  Clothilde  Graves  (1893)  thought  that  Maria  Edge- 


624  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

worth's  "Castle  Rackrent"  afforded  material  for  effective 
dramatization,  and  young  Lord  Tennyson  proposed  "The 
Falcon,"  in  which  the  Kendals'  rights  had  expired  the 
year  before. 

Paul  Blouet  (Max  O'Rell)  was  not  only  giving  his  en- 
tertainment "On  the  Continong"  in  1897,  but  was  busy 
with  plays,  —  one,  "The  Duchess  of  Glamorgan,"  adapted 
from  a  French  play  of  Barbusse  for  Mr.  Daly.  A  veteran 
newspaper  man,  Thomas  B.  Connery,  offered  a  drama  of 
his  own  composition,  and  a  veteran  stage  manager,  Leon 
J.  Vincent,  recalled  the  old  Bowery  days  with  an  ancient 
manuscript  entitled  "The  Spell  of  the  Glen."  Mr. 
George  J.  Hibbard's  "Jarman's  Own"  was  accepted. 
Mr.  Robert  W.  Chambers'  dramatization  of  his  novel  "A 
King  and  a  Few  Dukes"  took  the  fancy  of  the  manager, 
and  after  it  had  been  worked  over  was  contracted  for. 
Mr.  Chambers  was  also  commissioned  to  try  his  hand 
upon  two  farces  from  the  German.  Paul  Leicester 
Ford  wrote,  and  at  the  manager's  instance  rewrote,  "Cu- 
pid's Insurrection."  Mrs.  Craigie  engaged  to  complete 
a  play  on  a  theme  to  be  given  her,  and  Mrs.  Rohlfs 
(Anna  Katherine  Green),  whose  dramatic  version  of  her 
own  story  "The  Leavenworth  Case"  was  a  success,  pro- 
posed other  dramatizations  of  her  popular  works  (1894). 
Miss  L.  M.  Bedinger  sent  a  spiritualistic-theosophical 
drama,  and  Miss  Rosa  Bates  in  the  same  year  (1895) 
outlined  a  tragic  play  upon  a  theme  whose  attractiveness 
she  admitted  she  herself  was  not  assured  of. 

Thomas  Nelson  Page  conceived  a  dramatic  idea  to  be 
incorporated  into  a  play  which  he  intended  to  call  "In 
Old  Virginia,"  As  early  as  1892  he  sent  the  manu- 
script with  a  line  —  "I  hope  it  may  really  amount 
to  something."  Decision  was  not  reached  for  some 
months  : 


THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  625 

Dear  Mr.  Daly,  "Richmond,  Va.  Novr.  14th,  1892. 

I  am  to  be  in  New  York  on  the  i8th.  Don't  you  think  you  can 
read  the  play  before  that  ?  In  asking  this  I  remind  myself  of  a 
girl  who  sent  me  a  story  of  697  pages  of  closely  written  mss., 
with  a  peremptory  demand  to  let  her  have  my  opinion  by  return 
mail.  Yours  truly 

Thos.  Nelson  Page." 

The  manager  was  authorized  to  "cut  and  slash  it  to  suit." 
A.  C.  Wheeler  (for  many  years  dramatic  critic  of  The 
World)  and  John  Kendrick  Bangs  agreed  to  collaborate 
in  the  production  of  a  comedy  (1897).  Fitzgerald  Molloy 
finished  a  play  founded  upon  the  traditions  that  have 
come  down  to  us  concerning  Kitty  Clive,  and  M.  F.  Mons 
of  Paris  recommended  in  the  same  year  the  latest  success 
of  the  Theatre  de  la  Republique,  a  drama  with  a  title 
which  certainly  sounds  better  in  French  than  in  our 
tongue:  "La  Belle  Grelee"  — "The  Beautiful  Pock- 
marked." Mr.  Hardy's  own  dramatization  of  his  "Tess 
of  the  d'Urbervilles"  was  sent  to  Mr.  Daly  by  the  Harpers 
at  his  request.  Pinero  expected  to  furnish  a  comedy; 
however  (but  this  is  anticipating),  when  he  learned  of  the 
success  achieved  by  melodrama  at  Daly's,  he  wrote 
ironically  (March,  1899)  :  "The  Great  Ruby  Is  a  more 
robust  form  of  drama  than  I  am  likely  to  prove  capable 
of  providing;  still.  It  Is  difficult  to  anticipate  what  is  in 
store  for  us,  and  an  idea  of  a  strong  kind  may  suggest 
itself  to  me." 

In  1897  Mr.  Daly  wrote  to  Oscar  Wilde  and  expressed 
a  wish  for  a  play  from  his  hand.  Mr.  Wilde  wrote  on 
September  22,  from  Dieppe: 

"Dear  Mr.  Daly, 

I  am  very  much  flattered  by  your  kind  offer  and  I  would 
like  extremely  to  write  a  play  some  day  for  that  brilliant  and 


626  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN    DALY 

fascinating  genius  Ada  Rehan,  whose  own  art  is  supreme  on  the 
English-speaking  stage.  It  is  rare  to  find  such  a  personality 
combined  with  such  perfection  of  artistic  effect  in  method. 
But  I  have  great  claims  on  me  from  George  Alexander  and  from 
Wyndham,  and  though  they  are  not  legal  claims  I  feel  bound  — 
perhaps  for  that  very  reason  —  to  regard  them  as  paramount  at 
present,  and  if  I  took  your  money  I  know  I  would  simply  have 
to  return  it  in  three  months ;  but  I  will  always  remember  your 
offer  and  later  on  I  hope  to  think  out  something  that  you  will 
like.  I  am  not  yet  in  train  to  work  and  have  only  done  a  poem, 
unfinished  up  to  to-day.  Later  on  I  hope  to  get  back  the  con- 
centration of  will-power  that  conditions  and  governs  art  — 
and  to  produce  something  good  again.  In  any  case  let  me 
thank  you  again  for  your  generous  offer,  by  which  I  am  much 
^o^ched.  Believe  me 

Yrs 

Oscar  Wilde. 

I  enclose  a  card  with  my  name  here  &  address  in  case  you  have 
occasion  to  write." 

Later  on,  in  December,  1897,  Mr.  Leonard  Smithers, 
the  London  publisher,  wrote  Mr.  Daly  that  Mr.  Wilde 
(then  in  Naples)  was  ready  to  write  a  comedy  for  Miss 
Rehan,  and  that  Miss  Marbury  would  arrange  the  con- 
tract.    But  it  seems  never  to  have  been  written. 

We  have  seen  that  a  version  of  Shakespeare's  "Henry 
IV  "  —  both  parts  —  was  in  preparation.  The  costumes 
were  made  in  America  by  Arnold  &  Constable  (at  a  cost 
it  appears  of  over  ten  thousand  dollars),  and  the  royal 
crown  of  Henry  IV  —  perhaps  the  most  important 
"property"  in  any  of  Shakespeare's  plays  —  was  fash- 
ioned by  Gutperle  of  Paris.  A  revival  of  "Cymbeline" 
was  also  contemplated  by  Mr.  Daly,  for  which  Grahame 
Robertson  was  designing  the  costumes.  Another  im- 
portant work  was  also  in  hand  —  the  tragedy  of  "Jeanne 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  627 

d'Arc,"  an  historical  and  spectacular  play  by  M.  Joseph 
Fabre,  member  of  the  French  Senate  (1897).  Mr.  Daly 
had  BianchinI  of  the  Grand  Opera  design  the  costumes, 
and  E.  Jakobowski  of  London  compose  the  incidental 
music.  Hearing  of  Mr.  Daly's  purpose,  Mr.  Johnson  of 
the  Century  called  his  attention  to  Boutet  de  Monvel's 
pictures.  An  item  in  Le  Temps,  which  the  author  cut 
out  and  sent  to  Mr.  Daly,  reads  : 

"We  have  recently  announced  that  Mr.  Daly,  manager  of  the 
most  artistic  theatre  which  America  possesses,  will  produce 
Jeanne  d'Arc  in  London  and  New  York.  We  learn  to-day  that 
it  is  Miss  Ada  Rehan,  star  of  the  company,  who  is  to  create  the 
part  of  Jeanne  d'Arc.  Her  talent  is  renowned.  She  is  admi- 
rably beautiful  and  has  a  nobility  of  physiognomy  that  permits 
her  to  take  the  most  diverse  roles.  It  may  be  said  that  a 
flame  is  in  her  eyes.  She  has  been  with  her  manager  to  see  M. 
Fabre  and  inspect  the  designs  for  costumes  which  Bianchini 
of  the  Opera  has  in  hand." 

Augustin  seriously  considered  reviving  "The  Tales  of 
the  Queen  of  Navarre,"  the  famous  comedy  of  Scribe 
and  Legouve,  first  played  in  1850.  It  presents  the  lively 
Marguerite  in  a  more  genial  light  than  Dumas  does  in 
his  romances,  and  makes  her  the  ruling  spirit  of  an  in- 
trigue for  the  liberation  of  her  brother  Francis  I  from 
his  Spanish  captivity.  Mr.  Daly  acquired  the  latest  suc- 
cess of  the  contemporary  Parisian  stage,  M.  Brieux' 
"Les  Trois  Filles  de  M.  Dupont,"  on  hearing  of  its  suc- 
cess, but  though  he  very  much  wished  to  produce  it  he 
finally  decided  against  doing  so. 

The  classic  "Adrienne  Lecouvreur"  was  also  under- 
lined for  revival  on  a  grand  scale,  with  costumes  by  Worth. 
The  correspondence  of  the  modiste  shows  his  accuracy  on 
the  historical  side  of  his  profession.     He  is  particular  to 


628  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

ask  if  Mr.  Daly  really  desires  the  costumes  of  the  period, 
with  crinolines  or  robes  a  paniers^  because,  he  explains, 
at  the  Theatre  Fran^ais  the  ladies'  dresses  in  the  play, 
though  worn  somewhat  full,  were  really  not  as  in  the  time 
of  Adrienne. 


CHAPTER  XLIX 

The  last  season:  1898-1899.  An  epitome  of  a  whole  life.  Great 
resourcefulness,  great  successes,  and  great  disappointments.  "A 
Runaway  Girl"  draws  the  crowd.  A  revival  of  "The  Merchant  of 
Venice."  Miss  Rehan's  Roxane  in  "Cyrano  de  Bergerac."  Daly 
financially  crippled  by  the  seizure  of  the  London  theatre.  Law- 
suit ties  up  funds.  Death  of  A.  Oakey  Hall.  His  justification. 
Letter  from  Furness  on  "The  Merchant  of  Venice."  Sidney 
Herbert's  Shylock.  Remarkable  observations  upon  the  play  by  a 
Chinese  actor.  Contrast  between  the  Eastern  and  the  Western 
theatre.  Sardou's  "Madame  Sans  Gene"  no  novelty  and  no  suc- 
cess. Importation  of  "The  Great  Ruby."  End  of  the  season. 
Ill  health.  Sails  for  Europe  May  13,  1899.  Death  in  Paris  on 
June  7,  1899.     Funeral  in  New  York.     Conclusion. 

The  last  year  of  my  brother's  life  was  marked  by  two 
very  pronounced  successes  on  widely  different  lines : 
a  new  musical  comedy,  "A  Runaway  Girl,"  produced  on 
August  25,  1898,  and  the  sensational  play  of  "The  Great 
Ruby."  These  successes,  however,  —  at  the  beginning 
and  end  of  the  season,  —  rounded  an  interval  in  which 
he  suffered  keen  disappointments,  particularly  at  the  fate 
of  his  most  sumptuous  Shakespearian  revival,  "The 
Merchant  of  Venice,"  and  of  his  elaborate  production  of 
Sardou's  "Madame  Sans  Gene." 

The  "Runaway  Girl"  drew  crowds  for  nearly  three 
months  at  Daly's  and  then,  to  make  way  for  the  dramatic 
season,  was  transferred  to  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre, 
where  It  continued  its  prosperous  career  several  months 
longer  in  New  York. 

The  dramatic  company,  while  playing  out  of  town, 
added  a  version  of  Rostand's  "Cyrano  de  Bergerac"  to 

629 


630  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

its  repertoire.  Miss  Rehan  was  Roxane,  and  Mr.  Rich- 
man  Cyrano.  This  version  was  not  given  in  New  York, 
as  Mr.  Mansfield  had  announced  his  intention  of  pre- 
senting the  play  there.  "The  Merchant  of  Venice" 
was  in  preparation  for  the  opening  on  November  19. 

A  word  is  necessary  here  concerning  an  unlooked-for 
event  in  London.  When  Augustin  left  that  city  in  the 
late  summer  of  1898,  his  theatre  was  occupied  by  the 
new  musical  play  produced  by  George  Edwardes,  "The 
Slave  Girl."  The  two  managers  parted  upon  the  most 
cordial  terms,  although  there  had  been  some  discontent 
on  Edwardes'  part  over  Mr.  Daly's  disposal  of  what 
are  called  the  "bar  privileges"  of  the  theatre.  By  im- 
memorial custom,  refreshments  are  sold  over  the  counter 
in  the  English  theatres,  and  the  bar  privileges  are  either 
operated  directly  by  the  manager  or  let  by  him  to  caterers. 
Mr.  Edwardes  wished  Mr.  Daly  to  grant  them  to  a  person 
selected  by  Edwardes  himself,  but  as  his  arrangement 
for  the  occupation  of  the  theatre  was  only  from  year  to 
year,  Mr.  Daly  decided  to  make  a  permanent  disposition 
of  the  privileges,  and  did  so.  Immediately  after  his  re- 
turn to  America,  he  received  a  cable  stating  that  Mr. 
Edwardes  had  seized  the  theatre,  under  a  claim  that  in 
granting  the  bar  privileges  Mr.  Daly  had  committed  a 
breach  of  the  covenant  of  his  lease  against  underletting. 
Although  Mr.  Edwardes  was  producing  plays  in  Daly's 
Theatre  by  contract  with  Mr.  Daly,  upon  shares,  he  still 
remained  Mr.  Daly's  lessor  under  his  original  lease,  which 
contained  a  clause  against  underletting.  Daly  im- 
mediately cabled  instructions  for  legal  proceedings  to 
be  instituted  to  regain  possession  of  the  theatre.  An 
action  was  begun,  and  the  Court  directed  that  while  the 
litigation  was  pending  Mr.  Daly's  share  of  the  receipts 
of  the  theatre  should  be  deposited  in  Court.     The  con- 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  631 

sequence  of  this  seizure  by  Edwardcs  was  therefore  to 
deprive  Augustin  of  the  income  from  the  property  when 
it  was  greatly  needed  in  New  York.  In  this  stress  an 
English  friend  again  as  in  1893  helped  and  encouraged 
my  brother  in  a  way  that  was  profoundly  touching. 

The  death  of  ex-Mayor  Oakey  Hall  occurred  on  Octo- 
ber 8.  His  ability  as  an  advocate  was  unquestioned. 
Literature  and  the  stage  were  his  amusements.  His 
reverses  came  from  loyalty  to  party  and  trust  in  indi- 
viduals. His  vindication  was  late,  but  was  authoritative. 
It  was  widely  published  that  Justice  Noah  Davis,  who  had 
presided  at  the  trial  of  Tweed,  declared  subsequently,  on 
a  public  occasion,  that  the  prosecution  of  Mayor  Hall 
was  utterly  baseless. 

To  return  to  the  last  dramatic  season  at  Daly's  The- 
atre :  When  Furness  heard  as  early  as  September  that 
"The  Merchant  of  Venice"  was  in  preparation,  he  wrote : 

"Wallingfordj  Delaware  County, 
Pennsylvania. 
My  dear  Daly, 

Do  you  still  purpose  to  bring  out  'The  Merchant  of  Venice'  ? 
Because  if  you  do  I  am  going  to  make  a  most  brazen-faced  offer. 
It  is,  to  come  to  New  York  some  day  and  read  the  play  to  your 
assembled  Dramatis  Personae,  or  only  to  you  and  Ada  Rehan, 
as  you  think  fit.  I  am  arrogant  enough  to  suppose  that  the 
interpretation  of  one  who  has  cogitated  as  much  on  the  play 
as  I  have,  is  not  altogether  valueless.  Don't  hesitate  to  decline 
—  you  can't  hurt  my  feelings.  In  any  case  take  the  offer  as 
an  expression  of  the  cordial  good  wishes  of 

Yours  ever 

Horace  Howard  Furness. 
6  Oct.  95." 

In  this  production  Miss  Rehan  was  Portia.,  Sidney 
Herbert    Shylock,    Charles    Richman    Bassanio,    George 


632  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Clarke  Antonio,  William  Owen  Old  Gobbo,  Wilfred  Clarke 
Launcelot  Gobbo,  Edwin  Varrey,  the  Duke  of  Venice, 
Paul  McAllister  Prince  Morochus,  Harold  Lewis  Prince 
of  Aragon,  Herbert  Gresham  Gratiano,  Rhoda  Cameron 
Jessica,  Mabel  Roebuck  Nerissa,  Dewit  Jennings  Jubal, 
Joseph  Greffs  Salerino,  William  Hazeltine  Solario, 
Jefferson  Winter  Lorenzo,  John  Taylor  Leonardo,  and 
Clement  Hopkins  Balthazar.  The  noticeable  feature  of 
the  cast,  after  the  important  fact  of  Miss  Rehan's  first 
appearance  as  Portia,  was  the  selection  of  Sidney  Her- 
bert for  Shylock.  In  ordinary  theatrical  terms  it  was 
"casting  a  stock  actor  for  a  star  part" ;  but  it  was  one  of 
the  unexpected  things  the  manager  was  accustomed  to  do 
without  intending  to  surprise  anybody.  We  saw  that  in 
the  old  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  days  he  took  Louis  James 
out  of  the  ranks  and  gave  him  the  tragic  role  of  Yorick. 
Herbert  was  studious,  earnest,  and  ambitious.  He  had 
unexpectedly  made  two  small  parts  (widely  different  ones) 
prominent  by  his  individuality  —  Sir  Be7ijamin  Backbite 
and  Don  John  of  Austria.  He  was  not,  however,  the 
only  member  of  the  company  considered  for  Shylock; 
my  brother  had  discerned  much  promise  in  another  young 
actor,  Tyrone  Power. 

The  result  of  the  experiment  seemed  to  show  that  the 
public  wanted  a  star  in  the  role  of  the  Jew. 

In  connection  with  this  performance  it  is  interesting 
to  read  in  the  Herald  of  December  25,  1898,  an  account  of 
the  visit  to  Daly's  of  the  actor  who  impersonated  female 
parts  in  the  Chinese  theatre.  He  was  Foo  Chong  Mai, 
the  descendant  of  three  centuries  of  great  actors,  and  he 
was  accompanied  by  the  manager  of  the  Chinese  com- 
pany and  two  of  the  other  players.  He  was  intensely 
interested  in  seeing  a  woman's  part  played  by  a  woman. 
It  was  the  first  time  he  had  witnessed  a  foreign  drama. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  633 

After  the  fall  of  the  curtain  on  the  first  act  he  said  :  "Here 
is  the  best  that  the  world  can  give  !  Better  than  this  is 
only  in  the  realms  of  the  Gods!"  He  found  simplicity, 
naturalness,  and  sincerity  the  most  striking  features  of 
the  performance,  contrasted  with  his  native  drama, 
which  he  termed  complex  and  artificial.  But  he  was 
keenly  alive  to  the  improbability  in  the  trial  scene  that 
neither  Portia's  personality  nor  her  sex  should  have  been 
discovered  by  her  husband  or  by  the  learned  judges. 
All  the  rest  of  the  play  was  so  consistent  and  plausible 
that  this  seemed  to  be  carrying  stage  license  too  far. 

"But,"  he  adds,  "if  the  test  of  a  great  play  is  the  ability  to 
hold  the  observer  even  though  he  be  a  stranger  to  the  language, 
'The  Merchant  of  Venice'  as  interpreted  by  Miss  Rehan  is 
supreme.  Therein  lay  the  charming  actress's  power,  in  my 
eyes  —  the  ease  with  which  she  possessed  me  with  the  spirit  of 
the  drama  and  held  me  with  it  spellbound  for  two  hours,  even 
though  I  was  a  stranger  to  the  letter.  Her  first  words  had  a 
peculiar  effect  upon  me,  like  that  of  the  music  of  some  celestial 
instrument,  far  reaching  as  the  temple  gong  at  midnight,  yet 
rich,  mellow  and  of  inexpressible  sweetness.  I  never  knew 
before  what  roll  and  rhythm  and  fire  there  is  in  the  cadences  of 
your  language,  and  that  voice  was  a  revelation.  It  was  all 
the  more  amazing  when  upon  meeting  Miss  Rehan  afterwards 
behind  the  scene,  where  Mr.  Daly  accorded  myself  and  others 
of  my  support  the  honor  of  a  presentation,  I  discovered  that 
this  supernatural  voice  was  really  the  natural  —  that  It  was 
not,  as  with  us,  a  second  voice  brought  to  perfection  for  stage 
uses  only,  and  never  used  save  on  these  occasions.  It  was 
so  spontaneous,  so  unforced.  It  was  like  Miss  Rehan's  act- 
ing, wherein  she  never  rose  so  high  but  one  felt  that  she 
could  go  still  higher;  never  so  sublime  but  that  great  reserva- 
tions of  power  lay  behind  It.  It  was  all  so  perfectly  easy  that 
it  was  easily  perfect.  And  so  joyous  !  She  exhaled  happiness 
even  In  the  dread  trial  scene.     It  was  there  that  I  mused  with 


634  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Kea-Paow  in  the  folk  legend  :    'with  a  smile  like  that  may  not 
a  woman  overthrow  a  city;    and  with  another  a  Kingdom  ?' 

After  seeing  Miss  Rehan  in  the  last  act  never  again  will  I 
believe  your  national  costume  inartistic.  That  superb  gown 
of  royal  splendor,  worn  with  such  distinction  and  charm,  chal- 
lenges our  rarest  creations  of  many  hues,  mellowed  in  tone 
with  age,  and  embroidered  with  gold  and  silver  in  designs  of  the 
imperial  dragon,  flowers  and  birds.  But  music,  which  plays  a 
large  part  in  our  great  dramas,  seems  to  have  been  ignored  by  your 
great  master.  I  expected  to  hear  Miss  Rehan  sing  alternately 
between  her  fine  phrases,  but  I  listened  in  vain.  Even  upon 
her  entrance  there  was  not  the  sound  of  trumpets  or  cymbals 
which  with  us  is  supposed  to  have  the  power  of  waking  the  gods 
to  the  presence  of  the  heroine.  But  the  little  music  there  was 
inspired  me,  though  I  was  surprised  to  see  the  musicians  use 
notes." 

The  observant  actor,  in  concluding  his  interesting  re- 
marks, pointed  out  the  gulf  between  the  Eastern  and  the 
Western  theatre  — ■  the  latter  interprets  life  as  it  is,  the 
former  regards  it  "through  the  penumbra  of  tradition." 
"Your  hearts,"  he  says,  "are  in  the  present,  your  eyes 
on  the  future.  Our  reverence  is  for  the  past.  We  rep- 
resent different  worlds,  times,  and  manners.  Our  paths 
will  never  converge."  But  after  seeing  Miss  Rehan  he 
vows  that  he  will  never  again  say  with  She-King,  the 
ancient  law-giver,  "Woman,  that  thou  wert  not  born  a 
man  is  owing  to  thy  wickedness  in  a  previous  state  of 
existence." 

On  New  Year's  Eve  my  brother  had  his  friends  about 
him  as  before,  now  drawn  closer  to  him  because  of  his 
difficulties.  Among  the  letters  received  on  this  day  he 
preserved  one  from  Charles  Richman,  accompanying  a 
loving-cup,  in  grateful  recognition  of  the  manager's 
guidance  of  a  young  actor. 

With   the  new  year  the   need  of  change  to  meet  the 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  635 

public's  taste  became  urgent,  and  Sardou's  "Madame 
Sans  Gene"  was  brought  out  on  January  3.  More  than 
four  years  before  (September  1894),  Paul  Blouet  wrote  to 
Augustin  that  Irving  had  secured  this  play  for  England, 
and  that  — 

"No  living  English-speaking  actress  would  do  the  title  role 
like  Miss  Rehan.     It  would  be  the  triumph  of  her  career." 

Madame  Rejane  brought  the  play  to  America  with  her 
French  company  in  February,  1895,  and  a  month  before 
Miss  Kathryn  Kidder  had  produced  an  English  translation 
of  it  in  New  York.  Its  novelty  therefore  had  quite 
worn  off  when  it  was  staged  by  Daly,  Nevertheless,  he 
expended  upon  it  his  customary  care  and  lavishness  of 
ornamentation,  the  scenery,  costumes,  and  Empire  furni- 
ture being  remarkably  fine.  George  Clarke  was  Napoleon, 
Richman  Le  Febre,  Sidney  Herbert  Fouche,  White  Whittle- 
sey de  Neipperg,  Owen  Savary,  Wilfred  Clarke  Despreaux, 
Howard  Saint  Marsan,  Harold  Lewis  Rustan,  Miss  Marie 
Murphy  Mathurin,  Miss  May  Cargill  Princess  Caroline, 
Miss  Mabel  Roebuck  Princess  Elise,  Miss  Hazel  Pughsley 
Madame  de  Rovigo,  Miss  Irene  Perry  Toinon,  and  Miss 
Rehan  Catherine.  But  after  two  weeks  the  French 
comedy  had  to  be  replaced  by  "The  School  for  Scandal" 
(on  January  16),  in  which  Miss  Rehan  and  Mrs.  Gilbert 
resumed  their  original  parts ;  Richman  was  Charles, 
White  Whittlesey  Joseph,  and  George  Clarke  Sir  Peter 
—  his  first  assumption  of  that  character.  It  was  a  fair 
instance  of  growing  old  gracefully,  to  find  Clarke  playing 
Charles  in  1874  and  Sir  Peter  in  1899.  "The  Taming  of 
the  Shrew"  was  revived  a  week  later,  and  then  Augustin 
made  the  venture  that  saved  his  fortunes  in  this  most 
unfortunate  season. 

"The  Great  Ruby"   had   made  a   pronounced   hit  at 


636  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Drury  Lane,  and  its  value  was  at  once  recognized  by  my 
brother;  but  he  found  that,  like  other  desirable  proper- 
ties, it  had  been  acquired  by  "the  syndicate"  for  America. 
When  he  heard  now,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  that 
the  purchasers  had  relinquished  it,  he  instantly  made  an 
oflFer  which  the  Drury  Lane  company  accepted.  The 
whole  equipment  of  scenery  and  properties  was  brought 
over  from  London,  and  extraordinary  rehearsals  en- 
grossed the  stage,  and,  when  that  was  invaded  by  ma- 
chinists and  carpenters,  overflowed  the  lobbies. 

The  great  audience  which,  on  February  9,  1899, 
gathered  for  the  rise  of  the  curtain,  was  proof  of  "what 
the  public  wanted."  A  melodrama  was  a  new  thing  for 
Daly's  Theatre,  but  to  Daly  himself  it  was  only  a  re- 
newal of  his  youth.  It  might  almost  be  thought  that 
when  he  enlarged  his  stage  in  1891  he  prophesied  the 
coach  and  four  that  was  now  tooled  across  it  every 
night;  at  all  events,  he  had  then  prepared  for  a  limit- 
less call  upon  theatrical  resources,  and  it  was  declared 
that  his  production  rivalled  in  eflFect  the  original  in  Drury 
Lane.  The  well-disciplined  company  fitted  easily  into 
the  cast :  Miss  Rehan  was  Lady  Garnett,  a  sort  of  Angli- 
cised Madame  Sans  Gene,  shall  we  say  .?  Gresham  was 
Sir  John  Garnett,  Mrs.  Gilbert  Mrs.  Elsmere,  Miss  Blanche 
Bates  the  Countess  Mirtza  Charkoff,  Sidney  Herbert  Brett, 
the  detective,  Richman  the  gallant  and  unfortunate  young 
Indian  prince  Kassim  Wadia,  Whittlesey  Captain  Dal- 
rymple,  Miss  Cargill  Brenda  Elsmere,  Wilfred  Clarke  Vis- 
count Montyghal,  and  Miss  Roebuck  and  Miss  Morgan 
the  Misses  Denzil,  his  daughters  ;  other  roles  were  filled 
by  Messrs.  Owen,  Young,  Russell,  Howard,  Misses  Ed- 
wards, Draper,  Navarre,  Caverly,  Spinney,  and  Clinton. 
After  the  first  night  Miss  Marcia  Van  Dresser  was  given 
the  part  of  the  Countess,  Miss  Bates    having    resigned. 


Joseph  Francis  Dalv 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  637 

Later,  Miss  Ricardo  relieved  Miss  Rehan  when  she  left 
for  Europe  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daly  on  May  13,  and  the 
play  continued  until  the  theatre  was  closed  on  June  7, 
when  the  news  came  of  my  brother's  death. 

Hard  work,  unusually  severe  this  year,  disappointment 
at  the  results  of  it,  pecuniary  strain,  and  above  all  the 
anticipated  ordeal  of  the  lawsuit  in  London,  upon  which 
so  much  depended,  had  almost  exhausted  his  strength 
before  he  left  New  York.  He  was  seriously  ill  on  ship- 
board, but  on  May  29  I  had  a  cable  from  him  in  Lon- 
don,—  "Much  better.  All  danger  over."  On  June  7 
the  news  of  his  death  was  communicated  to  Mr.  Richard 
Dorney  in  a  message  from  Paris.  An  Associated  Press 
despatch,  published  in  the  evening  papers  the  same  after- 
noon, carried  the  news  to  all  parts  of  the  country.  Mr. 
Dorney  closed  the  gates  of  the  theatre  and  posted  on  them 
a  notice  of  the  death.  Shortly  afterwards  the  great 
portico  was  hung  in  purple  and  black,  and  these  emblems 
of  mourning  remained  for  thirty  days.  The  flags  upon 
the  London  Theatre  were  half-masted.  Before  my 
mother  and  I  had  recovered  from  the  shock  of  the  news, 
the  English  mail  brought  me  my  brother's  last  letter : 

"  Fifteen  Bayswater  Terrace, 

Kensington  Gardens,  W. 
London,  May  30,  '99. 
Dear  Brother, 

I  am  just  able  to  resume  writing  now  without  a  feeling  of 
exhaustion.  I  have  truly  had  a  hard  pull  for  life.  The 
tremendous  strain  upon  me  in  getting  The  Merchant  of  Venice 
produced,  and  subsequent  disappointment  at  the  small  results, 
and  the  even  greater  strain  to  bring  out  The  Great  Ruby,  had 
pulled  me  down  greatly ;  and  then  the  sudden  drop  in  the  Ruby 

receipts  after  Easter,  and  the  worry  of 's  action  and  some 

other  financial  anxieties  at  home  with  the  anxiety  about  my 


638  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

trial  against  Edwardes  over  here,  have  all  kept  the  tension  on 
my  brain  and  body  &  nerves  so  strong  that  the  result  was  in- 
evitable. I  simply  collapsed,  &  was  very  sick  Thursday  and 
Friday  before  I  sailed,  &  took  to  my  berth  the  day  I  got  on 
board  &  gave  up.  The  ship's  doctor  (Dr.  Johnson)  was  most 
competent  to  deal  with  the  case,  &  smooth  seas  for  4  days  helped 
me.  The  crisis  came  on  Thursday  at  sea ;  a  combination  of 
pneumonia  and  brain  fever  were  the  foes  I  was  fighting;  and, 
thank  God,  by  Thursday  evening  I  had  conquered  both.  I 
began  to  quiet  down  and  pick  up  from  that  on.  All  wished  me 
to  stop  over  in  Liverpool,  but  I  insisted  upon  being  brought 
to  London,  to  my  own  house,  &  such  medical  care  as  I  knew  I 
could  get  there.  I  had  to  be  carried  from  the  ship  to  the  invalid 
car  which  the  R.  R.  kindly  provided,  and  an  ambulance  met  me 
in  London  and  brought  me  home.  Here  I  have  been  building 
up  ever  since.  Today  I  feel  entirely  recovered,  but  still  a  trifle 
weak.  It  is  not  a  bad  record,  however,  to  be  up  and  about, 
walking  and  riding  and  taking  lots  of  food  and  exercise  2|  weeks 
after  the  attack  began.  But  the  lesson  that  has  impressed 
itself  upon  me  through  the  brain  trouble  of  this  illness  is  that  I 
must  let  up  a  bit  on  the  strain  next  winter;  and  the  safest  and 
most  congenial  way  is  to  spend  an  hour  a  day  or  evening  at  the 
Club,  where  I  may  meet  more  people  than  I  have  heretofore 
done  and  get  out  of  the  theatre  a  bit.  .  .  .  My  case  here  is 
not  certain  to  be  tried  on  the  20th  of  June.     I  understand  it  may 

be  pushed  over  a  week  or  ten  days.     I   hear  that  has 

weakened  so  far  as  to  suggest  arbitration,  but  I  fancy  the 
trial  in  Court  would  be  safer  &  surer.  ...  It  all  keeps  me 
terribly  anxious.  Thank  God,  however,  I  am  trying  to 
brace  myself  in  calmness  &  indifference  as  to  results.  But 
you  must  be  with  me  in  spirit.  I  will  try  and  write  mother 
by  this  mail." 

Besides  the  attendant  nurse,  Mrs.  Daly  and  Miss  Re- 
han  were  the  only  persons  with  him  when  he  died,  and  I 
am  indebted  to  Miss  Rehan  for  this  account  which  she 
was  able  to  give  me  later : 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  639 

"He  was  taken  ill  at  the  theatre  the  Friday  night  before  we 
sailed;  complained  of  chill.  Dr.  Biggs  was  sent  for  and  came 
to  his  office.  He  afterwards  saw  me  in  my  dressing  room  and 
said  he  could  not  tell  what  was  the  matter  with  Mr.  Daly  — 
that  it  would  take  twenty-four  hours  to  develop.  He  asked 
if  Mr,  Daly  could  not  be  persuaded  to  postpone  his  departure  for 
Europe.  I  went  in  and  asked  Mr.  Daly,  but  he  said  it  was  im- 
possible. I  knew  that  he  had  been  ailing  for  several  days,  but 
this  appeared  to  be  a  culmination.  Until  late  that  night  he 
sat  in  his  office  before  the  grate  fire  without  moving. 

Next  day  on  the  steamer  he  remained  on  deck  dozing  in  his 
chair.  Mrs.  Daly  and  I  did  our  best  to  persuade  him  to  go  to 
his  cabin,  but  he  refused.  When  he  finally  went  to  the  cabin 
his  face  looked  so  dark-colored  that  I  asked  him  if  he  did  not 
feel  ill,  and  he  said  he  did.  The  doctor  was  sent  for.  After 
seeing  him  he  told  me  he  was  a  very  sick  man,  that  he  feared 
pneumonia.  That  night  it  developed.  He  suffered  for  a  week 
—  raving  —  out  of  his  mind.  When  he  began  to  recover  he 
told  me  he  had  had  frightful  dreams  —  recalling  his  experience 
in  London  in  1886  'when  Emma  ^  died.' 

He  was  able  with  support  to  leave  the  vessel  at  Liverpool. 
About  three  days  after  I  joined  his  party  again  in  London.  I 
was  stopping  at  Lady  Harrington's  then.  He  was  sitting  up 
and  apparently  well.  He  afterwards  lunched  with  us  at  Lady 
Barrington's  once  or  twice.  He  had  engagements  every  day 
with  the  doctors,  and  also  with  the  lawyers  preparing  for  his 
case  against  Edwardes.  I  was  to  play  at  Drury  Lane  that 
winter  in  the  new  play,  and  he  came  one  day  and  told  me  he  was 
arranging  for  rooms  for  me  at  the  Lincoln's  Inn  Hotel,  and 
he  would  show  me  how  to  get  to  the  theatre  from  there.  He 
walked  all  round  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  with  me  until  I  was  tired 
out.  He  talked  very  much  about  the  lawsuit,  and  he  dreaded 
the  experience  of  a  trial  in  court.  He  had  such  an  experience 
in  a  case  brought  against  him  by  Collinson  &  Locke  about  the 
decoration  of  the  theatre,  and  he  thought  the  treatment  by 
the  lawyers  was   brutal.   .  .  . 

1  His  sister-in-law. 


640  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

He  called  upon  us  at  the  Barringtons'  Sunday  afternoon,  and 
left  to  make  preparations  to  go  to  Paris  next  day.  We  were 
sitting  by  the  fire  when  he  returned,  and  said  he  thought  he'd 
like  to  come  back  and  sit  a  bit.  This  was  about  June  4.  He 
sat  with  us,  but  said  little,  at  which  we  were  surprised.  During 
his  stay  in  London  he  and  Mrs.  Daly  were  at  their  own  house, 
15  Bayswater  Terrace.  Monday  morning  we  started  for  Paris, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daly,  her  maid  Anna  Wiegands,  and  myself. 
Lady  Barrington  and  Mr.  Farrington  saw  us  off.  We  arrived 
in  Paris  that  evening.  He  appeared  very  well  when  we  left 
London,  and  was  cheerful  and  chatty.  He  was  reading  the 
Dooley  Papers  aloud  to  us,  and  was  laughing  over  it.  He 
however  slept  considerably.  I  noticed  that  he  looked  unlike 
himself. 

We  were  to  leave  Paris  the  Thursday  following  for  London, 
for  the  trial  of  the  Edwardes  suit.  The  trip  to  Paris  was  to  see 
the  new  opera  'Cinderella'  at  the  Opera  Comique.  I  think  it 
was  Collins  of  Drury  Lane  who  wanted  his  opinion  of  it.  We 
went  to  the  Continental  Hotel.  Mr.  Daly  had  the  corner  suite 
on  the  Rue  Rivoli  on  the  fourth  floor.  My  room  was  down 
the  corridor.  The  English  doctor  had  prescribed  morning 
walks  after  an  early  coffee,  and  he  asked  me  if  I  would  get  up 
as  early  as  that  and  walk  with  him.  We  set  out  for  a  walk,  and 
he  said  we  would  go  and  find  Dr.  Herbert  (a  brother  of  Lord 
Pembroke)  who  had  been  called  in  for  me  when  I  was  ill  on  a 
previous  visit  to  Paris.  We  found  Dr.  Herbert,  who  came 
again  in  the  afternoon  to  see  him.  Mr.  Daly  thought  Dr. 
Herbert  did  not  understand  his  case,  and  was  impatient  because 
Dr.  Herbert  ordered  a  nurse  to  be  engaged.  The  nurse,  an 
English  girl,  was  engaged,  and  came  to  the  hotel.  Grivaz, 
the  artist,  had  secured  a  box  at  the  opera  for  Tuesday  night, 
but  Mr.  Daly  felt  too  ill  to  go.  He  was  then  in  bed.  Dr. 
Herbert  asked  for  a  consultation  with  another  physician,  to 
which,  after  some  objection,  Mr.  Daly  consented.  They  came 
Tuesday  evening  as  I  was  going  to  the  opera  with  Air.  Grivaz 
by  Mr.  Daly's  direction.  .   .   . 

Next  morning  at  eight  he  sent  for  me,  and  I  went  to  his  room. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  641 

His  face  was  as  white  as  paper.  He  had  a  look  of  strange  youth- 
fulness,  although  his  complexion  was  waxen.  He  asked  me  to 
tell  him  about  the  opera.  I  described  it,  and  told  of  some  of 
its  effects,  which  he  had  already  produced  in  The  Foresters, 
and  that  it  required  operatic  singers.  He  was  amused  at  my 
want  of  appreciation  of  the  work,  and  said  that  we  would  both 
see  it  when  he  got  better.  He  then  said  'Now  run  away,  child. 
I  am  tired  and  need  a  little  rest.'  At  nine  o'clock  Dr.  Herbert 
came  in  and  told  me  the  result  of  the  consultation.  They  had 
discovered  a  complication  about  the  lungs  and  heart;  he 
feared  Mr.  Daly  was  in  a  serious  condition.  I  proposed  cabling 
to  the  family.  He  said  'Wait  until  I  see  him  again  this  after- 
noon.' After  the  doctor  left  I  went  to  Mr.  Daly's  room.  He 
was  restless,  turning  and  moaning.   .   .  . 

Mrs.  Daly  ordered  luncheon,  and  I  remained  at  it  with  her 
in  the  next  room.  While  we  were  there  and  it  was  about  one 
o'clock  Mr.  Daly  from  the  next  room  called  out,  'Send  for  the 
doctor,  quick !'  I  went  straight  to  the  hall  and  sent  a  message 
for  the  doctor.  I  returned,  and  as  I  entered  the  room  from  the 
sitting  room  he  sat  up  in  bed.  He  looked  so  anxious.  ...  I 
said  'It's  all  right.  I  have  sent  for  the  doctor.  .  .  .  Every- 
thing will  be  all  right.'  His  gaze  then  seemed  to  go  beyond  me 
into  space  —  then  he  lay  back  —  straightened  himself  out 
perfectly  straight.  ...  I  turned  to  the  nurse  with  an  inquiring 
look.  She  inclined  her  head.  .  .  .  Mrs.  Daly  was  crying. 
All  was  over.  I  took  Mrs.  Daly  from  the  room  and  returned. 
His  face  in  death  was  inexpressibly  youthful  and  noble.  .  .  ." 

My  brother's  funeral  was  held  at  St.  Patrick's  Cathe- 
dral in  New  York  on  June  18.  His  coffin  bore  the  plate 
placed  upon  it  in  France:  "Augustin  Daly,  decede  a 
Paris  le  7  Juin  1899  a  I'age  de  61  ans."  A  great  crowd 
filled  the  church.  The  pallbearers  were  Joseph  Jeflferson 
(president  of  The  Players),  William  Winter,  St.  Clair 
McKelway,  Joseph  Howard,  Jr.,  Roger  A.  Pryor  of 
the    Supreme    Court,    George    Clarke,    Richard    Dorney, 


642  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Richard  M.  Henry,  Theodore  Moss,  John  B.  Schoeffel, 
Nelson  G.  Green,  Oliver  L.  Jones,  John  A.  Sullivan 
(president  of  the  Catholic  Club),  George  B.  Robinson 
(president  of  the  Catholic  Protectory),  and  John  D. 
Crimmins  (of  the  Roman  Catholic  Orphan  Asylum). 
The  Mass  sung  was  Cherubini's  "Requiem  ^ternam." 

Just  a  year  before  Augustin's  death  the  Century  Maga- 
zine (June,  1898)  contained  a  paper  on  his  theatre  as 
"An  American  School  of  Dramatic  Art."  The  first  part, 
"A  Critical  Review  of  Daly's  Theatre,"  was  by  Mr.  J. 
Ranken  Towse ;  and  the  second  part,  "The  Inside  Work- 
ings of  the  Theatre,"  by  Mr.  George  Parsons  Lathrop.  In 
the  course  of  his  review,  Mr.  Towse  said  that  Augustin 
Daly  was  something  more  than  the  leader  of  his  class ; 
that,  as  student,  author,  adapter,  director,  and  man  of 
business,  he  was  the  last  representative  of  the  type  of 
managers  who  formed,  developed,  and  preserved  the  best 
traditions  of  the  stage  and  justified  the  claim  of  the  the- 
atre to  be  numbered  among  the  arts ;  that  his  theatre 
was  the  richest  repository  of  the  best  dramatic  traditions, 
and  the  only  true  school  of  acting  in  the  United  States ; 
and  that  in  a  time  of  great  depression  and  disgrace  he 
had  set  up  a  bulwark  against  the  tide  of  frivolity  and 
corruption  which  had  threatened  to  overwhelm  the  pro- 
fession. 

With  the  announcement  now  that  this  career  was  ended 
came  an  extraordinary  outpouring  of  appreciation.  He 
was  described  as  "a  noble  character";  "grave,  strikingly 
individual,  aggressive  and  purposeful,  never  a  jester, 
never  'popular'  in  the  common  sense,  but  always  re- 
spected" ;  and  declared  to  be  practically  the  only  man  in 
the  country  to  whom  the  term  "theatrical  manager"  in  its 
better  sense  was  applicable ;    one  who  had  done  more  for 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  643 

the  popularization  of  the  artistic,  poetic,  and  literary  drama 
than  any  other  man  of  his  time.  Given  over  wholly  to  his 
theatre,  loving  it  so  that  what  others  followed  as  a  means 
to  an  end  was  an  end  in  itself  to  him,  owing  everything  to 
a  pertinacity  of  purpose  and  a  strength  of  will  that  no 
discouragement  could  weaken,  he  had  been  "the  most 
powerful  factor  of  his  day  in  winning  respect  and  toler- 
ance for  an  institution  not  high  in  general  favor  when  he 
first  became  a  disciple  and  worker  therein." 

There  was  no  period  of  his  life  in  which  he  settled  back 
in  contented  contemplation  of  his  achievements,  satisfied 
with  the  riches  he  had  laid  up  in  fame  or  money,  and 
invited  his  soul  to  ease.  The  past  to  him  was  at  no  time 
anything ;  the  present  was  ever  but  a  starting  point. 
When  he  rested,  it  was  because  "in  a  short  space  he 
had  fulfilled  a  long  time." 


APPENDIX 


AuGUSTiN  Daly's  will  bore  date  January  20,  1898,  and 
was  wholly  in  the  testator's  handwriting.  The  opening 
was  characteristic:  "In  making  this  my  last  will  and 
testament  I  ask  the  forgiveness  and  prayers  of  any  whom 
I  have  injured  at  any  time  and  freely  forgive  any  and  all 
who  have  injured  me  in  any  way  whatever;  and  I  pray 
that  Almighty  God  may  be  merciful  to  us  all."  He  gave 
all  his  personal  effects,  life  insurance,  real  estate,  and 
library  to  his  wife.  She  was  to  pay  his  mother  an  an- 
nuity of  ^300  and  to  leave  her  a  choice  of  some  personal 
memento.  To  his  nephews  and  niece  a  memento  was 
to  be  given  by  his  widow.  To  Miss  Ada  Rehan  the 
widow  was  asked  to  present  in  her  name  and  his  the 
Empire  furniture  in  his  private  office  at  the  theatre  and 
any  pictures  there  which  she  might  select,  "to  keep  in 
remembrance  of  the  many  years  in  which  I  have  benefited 
by  her  unselfish  interest  in  my  concerns  and  as  a  faint 
token  of  my  heartfelt  recollection  and  appreciation  of 
her  unfaltering  faithfulness  on  every  occasion."  In 
another  clause  he  makes  further  bequest  "to  Miss  Ada 
Rehan,  to  whose  unswerving  devotion  to  the  interests  of 
my  theatre  I  owe  a  great  share  of  its  honor  and  prosper- 
ity." In  the  event  of  his  wife  and  brother  —  who  were 
named  with  Mr.  Dorney  as  executors  —  dying  before 
him,  the  friends  who  were  appointed  in  that  contingency 
to  act  in  their  place  were  directed  to  close  up  his  busi- 

64s 


646  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

ness  when  "in  consultation  with  Miss  Rehan  it  may  be 
deemed  advisable  —  her  counsel  to  prevail."  Personal 
mementos  were  to  be  given  by  his  widow  to  James  C.  DuflF, 
Richard  Dorney,  Arthur  Rehan,  John  Farrington,  Richard 
M.  Henry,  Alexander  Milne,  George  Clarke,  Mrs,  Gil- 
bert, Herbert  Gresham,  Sidney  Herbert,  Michael  Ryan, 
Henry  Hoyt,  Thomas  Mangan,  Patrick  McCarthy, 
Richard  Redding,  Owen  Gormly,  Anna  Wiegands,  Lizzie 
Simmons,  and  Anne  Stringer.  Mr.  Ryan  was  the  music 
librarian;  Hoyt  was  the  scenic  artist ;  Alangan,  machinist; 
and  Miss  Stringer,  wardrobe  mistress  at  the  theatre. 
Similar  mementos  were  to  be  given  to  all  persons  who 
had  been  In  his  employ  for  five  years  or  over. 

The  two  Daly  Theatres  —  in  New  York  and  in  London 
—  both  being  in  the  possession  of  the  testator  when  the 
will  was  made,  were  disposed  of  as  follows  :  The  execu- 
tors were  to  carry  on  the  business  of  each  theatre  as  long 
as  they  thought  proper,  and  while  they  did  so  they  were 
to  set  apart  each  year  forty  per  cent  of  the  profits  to  di- 
vide among  Miss  Rehan,  Mrs.  G.  H.  Gilbert,  Richard 
Dorney,  John  Farrington,  George  Clarke,  and  Sidney 
Herbert  —  Miss  Rehan  to  receive  one-half  of  the  forty 
per  cent,  and  the  remainder  to  be  distributed  in  proportion 
to  the  salaries  of  the  recipients.  Of  the  remaining  sixty 
per  cent,  ten  per  cent  was  to  be  divided  equally  among 
seven  charitable  institutions  named  by  the  testator,  ten 
per  cent  was  to  go  to  his  brother,  and  the  remainder 
(forty  per  cent)  to  the  widow.  The  executors  were 
authorized,  however,  whenever  they  deemed  it  advisable, 
to  close  up  the  business  of  either  or  both  of  the  theatres, 
and  sell  the  leases  and  other  property  connected  there- 
with, and  the  proceeds  of  such  a  sale  were  to  be  paid  : 
ten  per  cent  to  the  same  charities,  ten  per  cent  to  the 
testator's  brother,  twenty   per   cent  to  Miss  Rehan  and 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  647 

the  remainder  (sixty  per  cent)  to  Mrs.  Daly.  If  Mrs. 
Daly  died  before  the  theatres  were  sold,  the  proceeds  of 
sale  were  to  be  divided  differently  — -  one-fourth  was  to 
go  to  the  charities,  one-fourth  to  the  testator's  brother, 
one-fourth  to  Miss  Rehan,  and  one-fourth  to  be  distrib- 
uted equally  among  Mr.  Duff,  Mr.  Dorney,  Mr.  Far- 
rington,  Arthur  Rehan,  Mrs.  Gilbert,  and  Mr.  Clarke, 
first  deducting  and  paying  from  such  fourth  five  hundred 
dollars  each  to  Gilbert  Gordon  (who  had  charge  of  the 
box-office  of  the  theatre),  Patrick  McCarthy,  Richard 
Redding,  Anna  Wiegands,  and  Lizzie  Simmons. 

The  testator's  copyrights  and  stage  rights  were  to  be 
sold,  leased,  or  licensed  by  the  executors,  who  were  to 
invest  the  proceeds  as  a  trust  fund,  the  income  of  which 
was  to  be  received  by  his  wife,  mother,  and  brother  in 
certain  shares ;  but  this  accumulation  of  income  in  trust 
was  found  to  be  void,  and  the  intention  of  the  testator 
could  not  be  effected. 

All  the  testator's  letters  and  papers,  books  of  account, 
and  scrapbooks  were  given  to  his  brother  for  biographical 
purposes. 

The  charitable  institutions  named  by  the  testator 
were  societies  for  the  care  of  the  poor,  of  orphans,  of 
incurable  consumptives,  of  children  and  young  girls,  of 
the  aged  of  both  sexes,  of  immigrant  girls,  and  for  giving 
employment  to  women  released  from  prison. 


B 

DISPOSITION   OF  THE   THEATRES 

The  problem  immediately  confronting  the  executors 
was  to  determine  whether  the  business  of  the  New  York 
theatre  should  be  carried  on.  The  London  theatre  was 
tied  up  in  litigation,  and  while  in  that  condition  its  re- 
ceipts were  accumulating  in  Court,  and  there  was  nothing 
the  executors  could  do  about  it  but  press  the  lawsuit  to 
a  determination.  But  the  New  York  theatre,  if  it  was 
to  be  a  going  concern,  must  be  opened  in  the  autumn, 
and  preparations  for  the  opening  must  begin  immedi- 
ately. It  appeared  that  Mr.  Daly  had  acquired  the  latest 
success  of  the  London  theatre,  "The  Greek  Slave"  (or 
"The  Slave  Girl")  with  the  intention  of  producing  it 
with  his  musical  company  and  the  famous  dancer,  Miss 
Adeline  Genee,  then  known  to  America  only  by  her 
reputation  as  a  London  favorite.  The  scenery  and  prop- 
erties had  been  purchased  by  Mr.  Daly  and  were  on 
their  way  to  New  York,  and  the  principal  members  of  the 
musical  company  were  ready  to  engage  for  it.  Another 
and  perhaps  more  important  question  arose  with  re- 
gard to  the  dramatic  company.  Mr.  Daly  had  planned 
a  tour  with  "The  Great  Ruby,"  but  without  Miss  Rehan, 
who  had  been  promised  by  him  to  the  Drury  Lane  Theatre 
to  "star"  in  the  new  play  which  Mr.  Collins  was  pre- 
paring for  the  coming  season.  Her  acquiescence  in  this  ar- 
rangement was,  however,  dependent  upon  her  approval 
of  the  "star"  part. 

648 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  649 

The  problem  for  the  executors  was  whether  Daly's 
Theatre  could  be  conducted  without  Mr.  Daly  to  direct 
it,  and,  in  fact,  as  a  personal  venture  of  the  executors 
themselves.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  members 
of  the  Daly  companies  were  released  by  his  death,  and 
that  if  they  were  to  continue,  they  must  be  engaged  by 
the  executors  upon  their  own  joint-and-several  responsi- 
bility. The  salaries  as  well  as  the  rent  of  the  theatre 
and  all  other  expenses  would  become  personal  debts  of 
the  three  executors.  The  estate  had  no  capital  with 
which  to  conduct  so  hazardous  a  business ;  on  the  con- 
trary, it  was  heavily  in  debt,  the  arrears  of  rent  of  the 
New  York  theatre  alone  being  upwards  of  fifteen  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  other  liabilities  amounting,  as  then  as- 
certained, to  over  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  In 
fact,  the  official  inventory  of  Mr.  Daly's  estate  disclosed 
that  at  his  death  its  value  did  not  exceed  its  debts. 

The  executors  took  the  matter  into  consideration  at 
the  urgent  suggestion  of  Mr.  Oliver  L.  Jones,  the  owner 
of  the  theatre,  who  offered  to  be  one  of  five  persons  (if 
the  others  could  be  found)  to  contribute  ^10,000  each  as 
a  working  capital.  Miss  Rehan  (still  in  Europe)  made  a 
similar  offer,  Mr.  George  Clarke  was  prepared  to  do 
likewise,  and  the  balance  was  obtainable.  The  members 
of  the  company,  with  the  utmost  loyalty  to  the  memory 
of  Mr.  Daly  and  the  institution  with  which  they  had 
been  identified,  stood  ready  to  reengage,  ^nd  refused  all 
offers  until  the  decision  of  the  executors  should  be  known. 

I  had  not  been  consulted  by  my  brother  before  he  pre- 
pared this  particular  will,  but  he  had  some  years  before 
its  date  submitted  to  me  a  similar  testamentary  scheme 
with  regard  to  the  New  York  theatre  (the  only  one  he  then 
managed),  and  I  had,  as  I  thought,  convinced  him  that  it 
was    impracticable.     The    reappearance    of    the    plan    in 


650  THE   LIFE   OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

the  ultimate  testament  Indicated,  I  think,  rather  his 
ideal  than  his  expectation.  The  conclusion  that  the 
executors  arrived  at  was  that  the  chances  of  success  were 
against  the  said  undertaking  on  their  part  and  that  it 
would  be  more  just  to  the  company,  who  were  willing  to 
trust  their  future  into  our  hands,  and  to  the  creditors  of 
the  estate,  to  dispose  of  the  theatre  with  the  reputation 
Mr.  Daly  had  given  it  undiminished,  than  to  be  com- 
pelled subsequently  to  place  it  upon  the  market  after  a 
possible  season  of  failure.  The  members  of  the  com- 
panies were  immediately  notified. 

As  soon  as  the  intention  of  selling  Daly's  Theatre 
lease  became  known,  three  applicants  appeared ;  Messrs. 
Klaw  &  Erlanger  secured  it  by  a  prompt  offer  of  fifty 
thousand  dollars.  This  was  certainly  the  best  sale  of 
theatrical  property  so  far  known  in  America.  On  August 
I,  1899,  the  theatre  was  delivered,  and  the  purchasers 
immediately  installed  as  manager  Mr.  Daniel  Frohman. 
He  conducted  Daly's  Theatre  for  several  seasons  with  a 
notable  stock  company  until  his  new  Lyceum  Theatre 
was  erected  in  Forty-fifth  Street,  After  he  left  Daly's  it 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Messrs.  Shubert. 

The  London  theatre  litigation  terminated  successfully 
for  the  estate  after  Mr.  Daly's  death  under  the  conduct 
of  Sir  Eric  Barrington  as  English  administrator.  Mr. 
Edwardes  appealed  even  to  the  House  of  Lords,  where 
the  judgment  was  affirmed  without  calling  upon  the 
counsel  for  the  estate  to  respond.  The  executors,  after 
resuming  possession,  continued  (with  the  consent  of  all 
legatees)  Mr.  Daly's  policy  of  contracting  with  Mr. 
Edwardes  for  the  production  of  musical  pieces,  until  the 
end  of  the  lease,  December  25,  1913. 

The  scenery  and  costumes  which  had  been  made  for 
the  production  of  "Henry  IV"  and  never  used,  were  sold 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  651 

to  Mr.  Richard  Mansfield.  The  musical  pieces  were 
put  In  charge  of  Mr.  Duff,  who  operated  them  under 
various  Impresarios  for  some  seasons,  and  the  copyright 
plays  of  Mr.  Daly  were  put  In  charge  of  Mr.  Dorney, 
who  still  continues  to  license  them  to  managers  through- 
out the  country. 


SALE   OF  THE   LIBRARY  AND   COLLECTION 

The  library  and  furniture  of  Mr.  Daly  were  sold  at  auc- 
tion at  the  rooms  of  the  American  Art  Association.  The 
sale  began  on  March  19,  1900,  and  continued  through 
twenty  sessions,  afternoon  and  evening,  until  March  29. 
The  catalogue  was  in  three  parts  and  comprised  613 1 
lots.  A  portrait  of  Thackeray  by  himself,  in  the  frame 
of  which  there  had  lain  concealed  for  years  a  letter  from 
him  to  Lady  Molesworth,  brought  ^350;  the  plaster 
cast  of  his  right  hand,  which  Sir  Henry  Thompson,  his 
physician,  had  caused  to  be  taken  by  Brucciani,  brought 
^iio;  the  portrait  of  Ben  Jonson  by  Gerard  Honthorst, 
from  which  the  engraved  likenesses  have  been  made,  was 
sold  for  ^300;  and  the  portrait  of  Shakespeare  owned 
by  the  actor  Conway  and  sold  in  1821  with  his  collec- 
tion, brought  ^95.  The  chief  ornament  of  the  "Woffing- 
ton  Room,"  in  Daly's  Theatre,  Hogarth's  portrait  of  her 
(a  charming  face  and  pose),  which  came  from  the  Lonsdale 
Collection,  went  for  ^iioo.  Another  portrait  of  Mrs. 
Woffington,  attributed  to  Hogarth,  sold  for  ^60.  Both 
had  been  engraved  for  Mr.  Daly's  "Woffington";  the 
last  named  is  the  frontispiece.  "Nell  Gwyn"  by  Wolfsen 
was  sold  for  ,^265,  Naegle's  "Forrest"  for  ^100,  and  the 
same  price  was  paid  for  the  portrait  of  Junius  Brutus 
Booth  in  the  character  of  Sir  Giles  Overreach  (by  an 
unknown  artist).  A  miniature  (full  length)  of  Rachel 
by  Gerome  fetched  ^270,  and  Inness'  miniature  of  Jenny 
Lind  ^52.50. 

652 


THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  653 

An  interesting  document,  the  original  petition  (1842) 
for  the  erection  of  a  statue  of  Washington  in  New  York, 
bearing  the  autographs  of  Washington  Irving,  Chan- 
cellor Kent,  FitzGreene  Halleck,  Henry  Brevoort,  Ed- 
win Forrest,  Moses  H.  Grinnell,  N.  P.  Willis,  William 
Cullen  Bryant,  Samuel  F.  Morse,  and  other  well-known 
New  Yorkers,  was  sold  for  ^25.  A  collection  of  musical 
instruments  (20)  went  for  ^156,  including  three  antique 
harpsichords  which  sold  respectively  for  ^18,  ^27.50,  and 
^40  —  the  latter  made  by  Pietro  Locatelli  of  Rome  in 
1660,  and  restored  in  Genoa,  1839,  by  Vittorio  Duclaud. 
It  had  two  banks  of  keys,  and  the  inside  of  the  case  was 
elaborately  decorated  with  paintings  of  flowers,  land- 
scapes, and  social  scenes.  One  of  the  other  instruments 
(sold  for  ^27.50)  was  made  by  Johannes  Pohlman  Leuclen 
in  1775.     The  case  was  mahogany  inlaid. 

The  arms  and  armor,  including  a  full  suit  for  horse 
and  rider  (Joan  of  Arc),  a  suit  of  chain  armor,  a  suit  of 
plate  armor,  and  eight  dress  swords  brought  ^312.  Relics 
of  Edmund  Kean,  —  Shylock's  bond,  scales,  and  knife, 
properties  used  by  him  and  his  son  Charles,  —  in  a  glass 
cabinet,  were  sold  for  ^i  1 5.  A  finely  wrought  set  of  chess- 
men, in  silver  and  silver  gilt,  with  board,  went  for  ^55. 
David  Garrick's  dressing-table  and  cabinet  brought  ^550. 
McDougall's  portrait  of  Mary  Taylor  went  for  only  ^5. 
The  richness  of  this  collection  exhausted,  it  would  seem, 
buyers  interested  in  the  former  favorites  of  the  New  York 
stage. 

A  drawing  by  Watteau  brought  ^17,  two  by  Bartolozzi 
^32  and  ^22.50,  two  by  Gainsborough  ^25  and  ^30,  and 
one  by  Sir  John  Thornhill  ^12.50.  The  mezzotints  were 
Garrick  in  Hamlet  (^12)  Kean  in  Sir  Giles  Overreach 
(^11),  Mrs.  Siddons  after  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence  (^105), 
Mrs.  Jordan  as  the  Comic  Muse,  colored  (^45),  Kean  as 


654  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

Richard  III  (^15),  Matthews  in  four  characters  by  Henry 
Meyer  after  Harlow  (^13),  Miss  Mellon  as  Mrs.  Page  by 
W.  Say  (^21),  and  Miss  O'Neill  as  Juliet  by  G.  Maile 

(^13). 

The  furniture  comprised  the  antique  carved  and  gilt 
pieces,  oaken  library  and  dining-room  pieces,  etc.,  in  Mr. 
Daly's  residence,  five  Empire  specimens  from  the  theatre, 
carpets,  curtains,  book-cases,  etc.,  and  a  number  of  framed 
water  colors  and  engravings.  The  total  received  for  the 
909  lots  in  Part  I  was  ^23,718.25. 

The  library  comprised  a  total  of  3787  lots  and  many 
thousand  volumes.  Twelve  sessions  were  consumed  in 
disposing  of  them.  There  were  the  four  Shakespeare 
folios,  all  good  copies  bound  uniformly,  —  the  first  by 
Bedford  and  the  others  by  Bradstreet,  in  red  levant  with 
gilt  edges,  each  in  a  levant  morocco  case.  The  first  folio 
measured  I2|  by  8|  inches,  and  is  perfect  except  that 
the  verses  opposite  the  title  are  inlaid  and  the  title 
and  last  leaf  are  partly  remargined.  The  portrait  is 
brilliant  and  the  text  sound  throughout.  It  brought 
^5400.  The  second  folio  measured  I2|  by  8^  inches. 
^650  was  bid  for  it.  The  third  folio  is  a  perfect  copy, 
13  by  85  inches.  It  brought  ^1400.  The  fourth,  13! 
by  9  inches,  brought  ^410.  The  total  obtained  for 
the  four  volumes  was  therefore  ^7860,  a  veritable  bargain 
for  the  purchaser.  The  only  quarto  in  the  collection  was 
"Love's  Labour's  Lost"  (163 1),  the  second  edition  and  of 
great  rarity,  in  old  calf,  for  which  ^205  was  paid.  There 
were  two  sets  of  the  quarto  facsimile,  Ashbee's  in  42 
volumes  half  morocco  (^64.50)  and  Furnival's  in  43 
volumes  half  morocco  (^58.50).  A  fragment  of  the 
second  folio,  four  plays  separately  bound,  "  Hamlet,"  "As 
You  Like  It,"  "Twelfth  Night,"  and  "Much  Ado  About 
Nothing,"  brought  ^80. 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  655 

There  were  three  editions  of  Shakespeare's  plays  extra- 
illustrated —  Boydell's  royal  folio,  19  volumes  (1802), 
in  half  red  morocco  by  Bradstreet,  in  which  were  inserted 
1300  plates,  many  on  india  paper,  embracing  over  70 
fine  portraits  of  the  poet,  historical  portraits  (Vertue), 
and  the  engravings  after  Fuseli,  Smirke,  Stothard,  Thurs- 
ton, and  Taylor;  Cruikshank's  Falstaff,  Miranda,  and  Cas- 
sandra by  Caroline  Watson  ;  Portia  and  Nerissa  by  Stubbs, 
Macready  in  his  various  roles,  Kemble  by  Dawes,  Corio- 
lanus  by  Burgess,  and  Macbeth  by  Reynolds  (Mezzo- 
tints) ;  a  signed  document  of  Clement  VII ;  and  much 
other  matter.  The  19  volumes  brought  ^551.  The 
Irving  and  Marshall  edition  (1888)  extended  from  8  to 
42  volumes  and  bound  in  half  leather  with  inlaid  backs, 
gilt  tops,  and  uncut  edges,  contained  5000  extra  plates 
which  exhausted  all  the  regular  illustrations  known  to 
collectors,  and  embraced  besides  a  profusion  of  portraits 
of  actors,  views  and  scenes  from  the  plays,  playbills,  and 
autograph  letters.  The  bid  was  ^860  for  the  42  volumes. 
Johnson  and  Stevens'  edition  (1793)  in  1 5  volumes  was  illus- 
trated with  the  Harding  plates  (proofs),  and  brought  ^120. 

The  unique  copies  of  separate  Shakespeare  plays  in- 
cluded Mr.  Daly's  own  privately  printed  editions  of  his 
revivals,  on  large  paper.  There  were  fifteen  of  these 
volumes.  Four  were  embellished  in  a  delightful  manner 
by  Eugene  Grivaz  with  water-color  illustrations  in  the 
text,  and  eleven  were  extra-illustrated  with  photographs 
of  the  company  of  Daly's  Theatre  in  character,  together 
with  a  great  number  of  engraved  portraits  of  actors  of 
other  days  in  the  same  roles.  Five  of  these  eleven  copies 
were  further  augmented  by  the  insertion  of  the  original 
colored  drawings  of  costumes  designed  for  the  Daly  pro- 
ductions. These  five  last-named  volumes  brought  ^610, 
the  four  Grivaz  volumes  ^552.50,  and  the  six  others  ^550. 


656  THE  LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY 

There  were  the  Halliwell  folios,  16  volumes  In  the 
original  binding,  which  brought  ^256,  thirteen  volumes  of 
Furness'  Variorum,  1871-1898  (^58.50),  the  Appleton 
Morgan  edition,  the  comedies  with  Edwin  Abbey's 
drawings  (^30),  and  many  separately  published  plays.  A 
collection  of  engraved  Shakespeare  portraits  gathered  by 
Benjamin  Moran  and  bound  in  9  volumes  folio  brought 
^562.50;  Nathan  Drake's  "Shakespeare  and  His  Times" 
(1817),  the  original  two  volumes  inlaid  and  extended  to 
five  volumes  folio  by  the  insertion  of  500  plates,  brought 
^300;  "Shakespeare  and  His  Commentators,"  a  remark- 
able collection  of  portraits  and  letters  in  one  folio  volume 
sold  for  ^55,  and  another  collection  of  Shakespeare  por- 
traits and  engravings  in  two  volumes,  royal  folio,  brought 
^95.  There  were  five  collections  relating  to  those  singular 
forgeries  perpetrated  by  William  Henry  Ireland  over  a 
century  ago,  concerning  which  his  confession  was  pub- 
lished in  1805.  Three  volumes  were  made  up  of  the  orginal 
forged  documents,  soiled,  scorched,  and  mutilated  for  the 
purpose  of  deception;  texts  of  "Kynge  Lear"  and 
"Hamlet"  and  the  whole  play  of  "Vortigern,"  together 
with  autographs,  drawings,  &c.,  all  fabricated.  The 
three  volumes  brought  ^900.  Another  volume,  the 
printed  confession,  contained  other  of  the  forged  docu- 
ments and  brought  ^100.  Ireland's  own  account  of  his 
deceptions,  in  manuscript,  with  the  pretended  inden- 
tures of  Shakespeare,  Anne  Hathaway's  love  letter  and 
lock  of  hair,  and  other  curiosities  including  some  Chat- 
terton  matter,  bound  in  one  folio  volume,  obtained  ^410. 
Ireland's  original  manuscript  of  nearly  200  pages  brought 
^50  and  Macready's  copy  of  the  published  forgeries 
(1796)  ^30.  The  total  of  the  sums  realized  from  the 
Shakespearian  items  was  ^13,400. 

The  old  comedies  produced  by  Mr.  Daly  were  repre- 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  657 

sented  in  the  sale  by  his  privately  printed  copies  (10) 
illustrated  with  the  portraits  of  the  members  of  the  cast 
photographed  in  costume,  and  by  engraved  portraits  of 
famous  actors  and  actresses  in  the  same  plays.  These 
volumes  were  elegantly  bound  by  Stikeman  in  half  levant, 
and  sold  in  the  aggregate  for  ^597.  A  collection  of  large 
paper  copies  of  twelve  of  the  Daly  productions  of  Shake- 
speare and  old  comedies  bound  in  two  volumes  without 
extra  plates  brought  ^40.  One  of  his  copies  of  "The 
Foresters"  as  produced  at  Daly's  Theatre,  with  220 
portraits  and  42  drawings  of  designs  for  costumes,  with 
letters  of  Lord  and  Lady  Tennyson,  brought  ^112.  An- 
other copy,  with  28  water-color  drawings  by  Grivaz  in 
the  text,  brought  ^95,  and  the  Daly  copy  of  the  pantomime 
"L'Enfant  Prodigue,"  with  photographs  of  Miss  Rehan 
as  Pierrot,  obtained  ^35.  One  copy  of  "The  Hunchback  " 
was  embellished  with  20  water  colors  in  the  text  by  Grivaz. 
It  brought  ^105. 

Theatrical  biography  was  represented  by  a  collection 
of  the  first  importance.  Mr.  Daly's  own  work,  "Wofhng- 
ton,"  was  in  several  shapes.  A  copy  extended  to  three 
volumes  and  enriched  with  600  plates,  among  them  water- 
color  and  india  drawings,  rare  mezzotints  (over  50),  other 
important  prints,  autograph  letters,  etc.,  sold  for  ^2850. 
A  second  copy,  extended  to  two  volumes,  illustrated  with 
50  pen-and-ink  sketches  in  the  margin  by  D.  E.  Cronin, 
with  water-color  drawings,  mezzotints,  contemporary 
newspaper  cuttings  etc.,  brought  ^300.  A  third  copy, 
which  in  addition  to  extra  prints  and  drawings  contained 
over  100  water-colors  by  Grivaz  in  the  margins  of  the 
text,  fetched  ^750.  A  fourth  copy  with  450  plates  in- 
serted, including  a  rare  group  of  mezzotints  of  the  great- 
est value,  brought  ^2100.  A  fifth  copy,  embellished  with 
nearly  150  water-color  drawings  in  the  margins  by  Alfred 


658  THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN  DALY 

Thompson  illustrating,  fancifully,  the  text,  brought  ^125. 
Other  theatrical  biography  with  extra  illustrations  in- 
cluded the  Memoirs  of  Harry  Angelo  (1828),  4  volumes 
(^124) ;  of  John  Bannister  (1839),  extended  to  4  volumes 
from  2  by  the  insertion  of  over  200  plates  and  letters 
(^112)  ;  of  Mrs.  Bellamy  (1786),  with  77  plates  and  play- 
bills ($50) ;  of  Thomas  Betterton  (1888),  large  paper  with 
35  portraits  (^12)  ;  of  Mrs,  Billington,  inlaid  to  folio 
with  116  plates  and  drawings  (^195);  Boaden's  lives  of 
Mrs.  Siddons,  Mrs.  Inchbald,  Mrs.  Jordan,  and  Kemble, 
8  volumes,  with  rare  plates  (^89)  ;  Broughton  and  Pul- 
ham's  "British  Stage"  (1817-1821),  5  volumes,  the  char- 
acters portrayed  by  Cruikshank  and  others,  mostly  col- 
ored (^90) ;  Alfred  Bunn's  "The  Stage,"  with  many 
portraits  inserted  (^45);  Colley  Gibber's  "Apology" 
(1740),  extended  to  3  volumes,  with  350  plates  (5^585); 
another  copy  of  the  same  edition  with  85  portraits,  2 
volumes  (^240).  There  were  31  volumes,  besides,  of  pub- 
lications relating  to  the  Gibber  family  uniformly  bound 
in  half  morocco  (^85.26) ;  two  volumes  of  Golman  letters 
with  plates  and  portraits  (respectively  ^55  and  ^145) ; 
Peake's  Memoirs  of  the  Golman  family  (1841),  2  volumes 
with  117  plates,  etc.  ($58);  Gunningham's  "Nell  Gwyn" 
(1852),  inlaid  to  folio  and  extended  to  4  volumes  with 
an  amazing  collection  of  brilliant  engraved  portraits 
(^4300) ;  another  copy  of  this  edition  in  the  original 
shape  but  extended  to  2  volumes  and  extra  illustrated 
(^iio);  the  same  work.  New  York  edition  of  1883,  4to 
size,  printed  on  one  side  of  the  paper  only  and  embellished 
with  62  water-color  drawings  in  the  text  by  Grivaz  (^230). 
A  very  remarkable  collection,  the  original  title  deeds 
to  Nell  Gwyn's  house  in  Pall  Mall  with  three  signatures 
of  Nell  (initials  only)  sold  for  ^iioo  (Mr,  Daly  paid  much 
more  for  them);    Doran's  "Annals  of  the  English  Stage" 


THE   LIFE  OF  AUGUSTIN   DALY  659 

(1864),  extended  from  2  volumes  to  8,  with  1000  portraits 
and  plates,  for  ^208;  Fanny  Ellsler's  "Letters  and  Jour- 
nal" (1845),  inlaid  from  octavo  to  folio  and  illustrated 
with  134  plates  and  views,  for  ^90;  "The  English  Spy" 
(1825),  with  many  inserted  plates  in  addition  to  Cruik- 
shank's  colored  illustrations,  for  ^218  ;  Fitzgerald's  "The 
Kembles,"  2  volumes,  with  extra  portraits  and  playbills, 
for  ^13  ;  that  curious  publication  "The  Fly,"  with  which 
is  incorporated  "The  Wonder  and  Novelty,"  a  dramatic 
and  literary  weekly  (1838),  63  numbers  in  one  4to  volume, 
for  ^31;  Arthur  Murphy's  Life  by  Jesse  Foot,  2  vols., 
8vo,  with  225  plates,  for  ^72;  and  "Lives  of  the  Players" 
by  John  Gait  (183 1),  2  volumes  extended  to  5,  with  over 
200  portraits  and  autograph  letters,  William  Upcott's 
copy,  presented  by  the  publishers,  for  ^80. 

The  David  Garrick  items  included  his  life  by  Arthur 
A^urphy  and  his  "Private  Correspondence,"  extended  to 
10  volumes,  4to,  morocco  extra  by  Riviere  (^1950)  ; 
Garrick's  "Life  and  Letters"  (183 1),  2  volumes,  4to,  ex- 
tended to  6  by  the  addition  of  385  fine  portraits,  views, 
etc.,  marginal  notes  by  J.  W.  Croker,  bound  in  green 
morocco  by  Riviere  (^1020) ;  "Garrick,  his  Portrait  in 
New  York  and  its  Artist"  (New  York,  1857),  extra  illus- 
trated with  117  portraits,  etc.  (^150);  Garrick's  Life 
by  Percy  Fitzgerald  (1868),  2  volumes  extended  to  7  with 
over  600  plates  (^112) ;  a  manuscript  of  46  pages  entitled 
"Tit  for  Tat,  the  first  and  second  season  of  Mr.  G — k's 
Management"  (an  attack  upon  his  administration  of 
Drury  Lane  [1747]  with  an  account  of  the  nightly  re- 
ceipts, etc.),  evidently  intended  for  the  printer  but  never 
published  (^50) ;  and  Thomas  Davies'  memoir  of  Garrick 
(1780),  4  volumes,  8vo,  with  over  300  portraits  (^48). 


D 

RESULT  OF   THE  ADMINISTRATION 

The  settlement  of  Augustin  Daly's  estate  was  delayed 
by  litigation  in  England  and  America  until  July,  1903. 
After  debts  had  been  paid  amounting  in  America  to 
^149,076.57  and  in  England  to  ^93,038.40,  a  balance  was 
declared  of  ^184,194.38. 


660 


INDEX 


Abbey,  Henry  E.,  367,  469,  476,  602 

Abbott,  Mrs.  C.  D.,  115 

"Adrlenne  Lecouvreur,"  627 

"Adzuma,"  623 

"After  Business  Hours,"  425 

"After  Dark,"  76 

"Agnes,"  III 

"Ah  Sin,"  234-237 

Aimee,  Mdlle.,  141,  153,  212 

Aldrich,  T.  B.,  456,  505 

Alexander,  George,  626 

Alexander,  Thomas  S.,  'j'j 

"Algerian,  The,"  577 

"Alixe,"  119,  153,  155,475 

Allen,  Mrs.  J.  H.  (Louise),  180 

"All  the  Rage,"  343 

"Americans  Abroad,"  347 

"American,  The,"  224 

"American  Wife,  An,"  218 

Ames,  Amy,  89,  107 

Anderson,  Mary,  247,  372,  528 

Anderson,  Percy,  607 

Angelis,  J.  de,  444 

"Apostate,  The,"  204 

"April  Weather,"  577 

"Arabian  Night,  An,"  328,  488 

Arnold,  J.  H.  V.,  22,  29,  30 

Arnold,  Sir  Edwin,  543,  623 

"Article  47,"  no 

"L'Assommoir, "  107,  297,  306,  308 

"As  You  Like  It,"  95,  222,  246,  486- 
487,  491-496,  519,  520,  526,  533,  541, 
^^l,  563,  576,  602,  613,  617,  620 

B 

"Bachelor  Ladies,"  444 
"Bachelor  of  Arts,"  103 
Bancroft,    Sir   Squire   and   Lady,  487, 
490,  492,  527,  528 


Bandman,  Daniel,  37 

Bangs,  J.  K.,  625 

"Barber  of  Seville,"  156 

Barnes,  Maggie,  321 

Barnum,  P.  T.,  18-19 

"Baroness,  The,"  115 

Barras,  George,  41-42 

Barrett,  Mrs.  (Gertrude  Fairfield),  218 

Barrett,  Justice,  218 

Barrett,  Lawrence,  in,  183-184,  213, 

450,  451,  452,  453,  456,  471,  499,  504, 

604 
Barrett,  Wilson,  402,  424,  450 
Barrymore,  Maurice,  194,  197,  204,  212 
Bateman,  Ellen,  47 
Bateman,  H.  L.,  48,  53 
Bateman,  Mrs.  H.  L.,  48,  279,  312 
Bateman,  Kate,  47-48,  50-53,  206,  312, 

575 
Bates,  Blanche,  620,  636 
Bayard,  T.  F.,  576,  584 
"Beau  Brummell,"  549,  550 
"Becket,"  571,  602,  617 
Beckett,  Harry,  42 
Beecher,  H.  W.,  427 
Beekman,  W.,  89,  95,   120,   158,  279, 

356,  378,  382,  389 
Beere,  Mrs.  Bernard,  528 
Belasco,  David,  372 
Bell,  Digby,  339,  347 
Bell,  Hamilton,  390,  393,  395,  430,  449 
Bell,  Hilary,  428 
"Belle  Lamar,"  169-170,  179 
"Belles  of  the  Kitchen,"  193 
"Belle's  Stratagem,"  114,  180,  564 
Bellew,  Kyrle,  437,  584,  585-586,  591 
"Bells,  The,"  108 
Bergh,  Henry,  183 
Bernard,  John,  6 
Bernhardt,  Sarah,  576,  591 
"Big  Bonanza,  The,"  186,  194,  198,215 
"Birth  and  Breeding,"  549 


661 


662 


INDEX 


Bispham,  William,  456,  499 

"Black  Crook,  The,"  41 

"Blackeyed  Susan,"  187 

Black,  William,  405 

Blake,  Wm.  Rufus,  6 

Blouct,  Paul,  531,  624,  635 

Blowitz,  M.  de,  415,  419,  421 

"Blue  Grass,"  226 

Boker,  George  H.,  471 

"Bold  Stroke  for  a  Husband,"  115 

Bond,    Frederick,    377-378,    382,    393, 

402,  426,  427,  429,  480 
Bonfanti,  41 
Boniface,  George  C,  13 
Booth,  Agnes,  363 
Booth,   Edwin,  36,   38,   135,    198-206, 

246,  309-311,  368,  426,  449,  451,  452, 

45 3 >  4S4>  455,  45^,  469,  47°,  47 h  474, 

499,  504-505,  569,  604 
Booth,  John  Wilkes,  39 
Booth,  Junius,  39 
Booth,  Junius  Brutus,  15 
Bosworth,  Hobart,  503,  541,  562,  581, 

603,  608 
Boucicault,  Dion,  74,  76,  170-176,  181, 

363,  444,  471,  474-475,  480,  490,  603 
Bourchier,  Arthur,  561,  562,  563,  564, 

569,  571,  580 
Bowers,  George  Vining,  213 
"Bridal  Tour,  The,"  170 
Bridgland,  Thomas,  541,  562,  566,  581, 

582 
Briggs,  Charles  F.,  32,  245 
"British  Blondes,"  42 
Broadway  Theatre,  Daly's,   118,   162, 

163-164 
"Brook,  The,"  335 
Brough,  Lionel,  267,  270 
Brougham,  John,  88,  102,  104-105,  120, 

124, 136-137,  187,  195,  212-213,  223, 

226,  326,  554 
Brown,  T.  Allston,  363 
Bruton,  Thomas,  475-476 
Bryant,  Dan,  121,  444 
Buchanan,  Robert,  489 
Buckland,  Wilfred,  503,  541,  562,  565, 

577 
"Bunch  of  Berries,  A,"  193 
"Bundle  of  Lies,  A,"  581 


"Bundle  of  Life,  A,"  476 

Bunner,  H.  C,  326,  449 

Burnand,  F.  C,  271,  281,  487,  571,  572, 

616 
Burne-Jones,  E.,  575 
Burton,  Sir  Richard,  295 
Burton,  Wm.  E.,  22,  607 
"Busybody,  The,"  96 
Byron,  H.  J.,  265-266 


"Cabinet  Minister,  The,"  533 

Cameron,  Beatrice,  545,  547 

Cargill,  May,  635,  636 

Carleton,  H.  G.,  532 

Carleton,  Wm.,  79 

Carlisle,  Sybil,  579,  581,  620 

Carlyle,  Francis,  579 

Carr,  Comyns,  403 

"Caste,"  96 

Castle,  William,  213,  223 

"Cataract  of  the  Ganges,"  126-127 

Cayvan,  Georgia,  505 

Cecil,  Arthur,  271,  402 

Celeste,  Mme.,  41 

Chambers,  R.  W.,  606,  624 

Chanfrau,  Mrs.,  48,  89,  96 

Chapman,  F.,  89,  95,  158,  159 

"Charity,"  159-160,  213 

Chase,  W.  M.,  427 

Chatterton,  F.  B.,  292,  299-302 

Cheatham,  Kitty,  479,  503,  541 

"Checkmate,"  96 

Chew,  Beverly,  427 

Childs,  G.  W.,  444 

Chizzola,  M.  A.,  476 

"Cinderella  at  School,"  341 

"Circus  Girl,  The,"  609,  615,  620, 
623 

"Clancarty,"  190 

Clarke,  Creston,  562,  565 

Clarke,  George,  79,  89,  93,  94,  95,  96, 
114,  115,  120,  156,  158,  159,  169,  177, 
178,  179,  426,  443,  449,  493,  503,  541, 
562, 563, 565,  566,  581,  582,  603,  606, 
608,  618,  632,  635,  641 

Clarke,  John  S.,  39,  301 

Clarke,  Wilfred,  616,  632,  635,  636 


INDEX 


663 


Claxton,  Kate,  103,  109,  no,  166,  171, 

223 
Clayton,  Estelle,  320 
Clemens,  S.  L.,  see  Twain,  Mark 
Cody,  Col.  (Buffalo  Bill),  484 
Coghlan,    Charles,    221-228,    237-238, 

402,  592 
Coghlan,  Rose, '452,  592,  620 
Collier,  E.  K.,  228,  230 
Collier,  James  W.,  359 
Collier,   William,  349,   354,   394,   426, 

443 
Collins,  C.  A.,  107-108 
Collins,  Wilkie,  100,  276,  279,  289,  444 
Conquest,  George,  272,  275 
Conried,  Heinrich,  591 
"Conscience  Money,"  265 
Conway,  F.  B.,  44 
Conway,  Hart,  158,  168,  320,  325 
Cooke,  J.  M.,  89 
Coquelin,  415,  423,  455,  471,  473,  480, 

481,  493,  S18,  519,  520,  S3I,  548, 549 
Corrigan,  Abp.,  442 
Couldock,  C.  W.,  228 
"Countess  Gucki,  The,"  590,  591 
"Country   Girl,   The,"    365-366,    397, 

407,  411,  415,  422,  619 
Cowell,  Sydney,  189,  202,  204,  213,  226, 

228,  238 
Cox,  "Sunset,"  473 
Craig,  John,  541,  564,  566,  603,  606, 

608 
Craig,  Robert,  444 
Craigie,  Mrs.,  444,  476,  624 
Crane,  Edith,  488,  503 
Crawford,  F.  Marion,  566 
Crimmins,  John  D.,  642 
"Critic,  The,"  178,  482,  581 
Croly,  Mrs.  (Jennie  June),  427 
"Crown  of  Thorns,  A,"  217 
"Crucible,  The,"  216 
Cubas,  Isabel,  42 
Cunningham,  Arthur,  619 
"Cup,  The,"  528 
Curtis,  G.  W.,  49 
Cushman,  Charlotte,  134-135,  138,  215, 

426,  453,  606 
"Cymbeline,"  228 
"Cyrano  de  Bergerac,"  629-630 


"Daddy  Gray,"  96 

Dallas,  Mary  Kyle,  444 

Daly,  Charles  P.,  15,  104,  208-209, 
382-383,  471,  598 

Daly,  Denis,  8,  9 

Daly,  Elizabeth,  5,  8-1 1 

Daly,  John,  3 

Daly,  Michael,  8 

Daly,  Richard,  3 

Daly's  Theatre,  325-326,  437 

Daly's  Theatre  (London),  527,  567 

Damrosch,  Walter,  453,  473 

"Damsel  of  the  Darien,"  445 

"Dandy  Dick,"  445 

"Dark  City,  The,"  238-239 

Daubigny,  Lloyd,  541,  563,  565,  580 

Davenport,  Adolphus,  103 

Davenport,  E.  L.,  89,  93,  96,  183,  184, 
238,  607 

Davenport,  Fanny,  89,  91,  94,  95,  105, 
109,  no,  III,  114,  115,  120,  158,  159- 
160,  166,  167,  177,  178,  180,  185,  186, 
187,  188,  197,  204,  211,  212,  213, 221, 
222-223,  225,  226,  227,  228,  229, 238, 
242,  246-247,  248,  302,  308 

Davenport,  F.  L.,  165,  213 

"David  Garrick,"  220 

Davidge,  William,  89,  93,  94,  95,  96, 
loi,  102,  105,  109,  no,  n4,  115,  158, 
159,  160,  169,  177,  178,  185-186,  204, 
212-213,  223,  225,  228, 319,  325, 328, 
607 

Davis,  Clarke,  483 

Dawes,  Gertrude,  19 

Dawison,  Bogumil,  37-38 

Dean,  Julia,  36-37 

"Deborah,"  107 

"Denise,"  384 

Depew,  C.  M.,  471 

Desclee,  Mme.,  99 

DeVere,  Mrs.  G.  F.,  see  Mortimer, 
Nellie 

"Diamonds,"  113 

Dickens,  Charles,  107 

Dickens,  Charles  (the  Younger),   107, 

295,  445 
Dickinson,  Anna,  167,  216-217 


664 


INDEX 


Dietrichstein,  Leo,  623 

Dietz,  Linda,  log,  no,  120,  219 

"Diplomacy,"  187,  554 

Disraeli,  Benjamin,  273 

Dithmar,  E.  A.,  449,  603 

"Divorce,"  108-109,  121,  153,  160,  213, 

327 
Dixey,  Henry  E.,  237,  402,  578,  579, 

580,  581 
"Dollars   and   Sense,"   361,   375,   562, 

570-571 

"Don  Cesar  de  Bazan,"  96 

Dorney,  Richard,  372,  443,  555,  574, 
577,  591,  641 

Draft  Riot,  34-35 

"Dreams,"  93 

Dreher,  Virginia,  354,  356,  366,  372, 
380,  384,  394-395,  400,  402-403,  410, 
422,  427,  429,  430,  449,  474,  486 

Drew,  Georgiana,  212,  222,  223 

Drew,  John,  186,  194,  203,  204,  226, 
228,316,325,  328,33s,  337-338,347- 
348,  356-357,  366,  372-375,  378,  380, 
384, 390, 393, 395,  397-398,  400,  402- 
403,  410,  420,  427,  428,  429,  430,  445, 
446,  449,  456,  460,  465,  466,  477,  479, 
480,  481,  490,  493,  495,  SOI,  503,  520, 

536,  54i,_  556-557,  563 
Drew,  Louisa,  137,  620-621 
Duff,  James  C,  294-295,  383 
Duff,  John  A.,  38,  81,  87,  106,  163,  307, 

309,  334-335,  383,  446,  474 
Duff,  Mary  (Mrs.  Augustin  Daly),  81, 

444 
Duff,  Thomas,  444 
"Duke's  Motto,  The,"  96 
Duncan,  Isadora,  602,  606 
Duse,  Eleanora,  563,  576 
Dyas,  Ada,  157,  158,  159,  160,  166,  168, 

169,  176-177,  239,  242 


Earle,  Virginia,  602,  606,  607,  608,  620 
Eddy,  Edward,  214-215,  607 
Edwardes,  George,  527,  567,  576,  578, 

630,  638,  639 
Edwards,  Harry,  452,  501,  503,  504 
"Edwin  Drood,"  107,  108,  623 


Egan,  M.  F.,  487,  519 

Eldridge,  Louisa,  453 

Elliott,  Gertrude,  589 

Elliott,  Maxine,  580,  581,  582,  588,  589 

Emmet,  Daniel  D.,  352 

Emmett,  J.  K.,  141 

"L'Enfant  Prodigue,"  577 

Ethel,  Agnes,  89,  91,  93,  94,  95,  96,  99, 

lOi,  106,  no,  III,  138,  154,  223,  256, 

298,  303,  321-322 
Evans,  F.  H.,  95,  204 
"Everybody's  Friend,"  96 
Eytinge,  Rose,  72-76,  362,  444,  475 


"Faint  Heart  Never  Won  Fair  Lad;-," 

188 
Fairfax,  Lettice,  617 
"Falcon,  The,"  528,  624 
Farjeon,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  269-270,  528 
"Fast  Family,  The,"  168 
"Fatinitza  and  The  Golden  Wreath," 

263 
Fawcett,  Edgar,  384 
Fawcett,  Owen,  109,  114,  115,  158,  168, 

169,  178,  194 
Fawsitt,  Amy,  222 
Fechter,   Charles,    121,    131-133,    135, 

315 
"Fellers  Wot  Be's  Around,  The,"  330- 

331,  389 

"Fencing  Master,  The,"  577 

"Fernande,"  100,  153 

Fernandez,  Bijou,  394,  449 

Field,  Eugene,  542 

Field,  Kate,  167 

Fielding,  May,  320,  325,  347,  349,  356, 
372,  382-383,  580 

Fifth  Avenue  Theatre,  87,  118 

Fildes,  Sir  Luke,  107 

"Fille  de  Madame  Angot,  La,"  141,  153 

Fish,  Flamilton,  469 

Fisher,  Charles,  113,  114,  115,  120,  156, 
158,  160,  177,  184,  185,  197,  204,  223, 
225, 226, 228,  230,  242,  318,  325,  355- 
356,  382,  384,  393-394,  396,  427,  449, 
482,  504 

Fisk,  James,  Jr.,  83,  87,  88,  607 


INDEX 


665 


Fiske,  Harrison  Grey,  612 

Fiske,  Minnie  Maddern,  475 

Fiske,  Stephen,  185,  247 

Fitch,  Clyde,  623 

Fitzgerald,  Percy,  568 

"Flash  of  Lightning,  A,"  80,  139 

Flaubert,  Gustave,  421 

Florence,  W.  J.,  13,  40-41,  389,  450, 

452,  469,  471,  472,  499,  SS4,  613 
Florence,  Mrs.  W.  J.,  19,  40,  389 
"FoUine,"  157 
Forbes-Robertson,  J.,  531 
Ford,  P.  L.,  532,  624 
"Foresters,  The,"  529,  534-541,  564, 

565,  571-572 
Forrest,  Edwin,  16,  17,  209-210,  445 
"Fortune,"  155 
Fox,  C.  K.,  138 
Fox,  George  L.,  38,  106,  121,  139-140, 

163-164,  238,  502 
Frederic,  Harold,  528,  531 
French,  Harry  W.,  338-339 
Frohman,  Charles,  523,  524,  556,  619 
Frohman,  Daniel,  505 
"Frou-Frou,"  98-99,  153,  213,  223 
Fuller,  Loie,  424,  444 
Fulton,  Chandos,  44 
Furness,  H.  H.,  423,  483,  494,  539,  576, 

^89,  604-605,  631 


"Gaiety  Girl,  A,"  578 

Galton,  Blanche  {see  Mrs.  Thomas 
Whiffen) 

Garrick,  David,  426,  429,  439,  440,  491 

"Geisha,  The,"  591,  601,  602,  603,  616, 
617,  619,  623 

Germon,  Effie,  384 

Gerry,  Elbridge  T.,  344 

Gilbert,  Mrs.  G.  H.,  40,  89,  93,  loi, 
103,  105,  109,  no,  114,  115,  156,  177, 
178, 186-187,  204-205,  212,  223,  224, 
226,  228-229,  242-243,  321-322, 328- 
329,  338,  342,  347,  349,  364,  372-373- 
375,  378,  394>  397,  400-403,  410,  427, 
429,  430,  449,  474,  479,  480,  481,  502, 
526, 528,  571,  578,  582,  584,  603,  606, 
616,  618,  635,  636 


Gilbert,  John,  no,  158,  382,  436,  437, 
452,455,456,469,  471,474 

Gilbert,  William,  349,  356,  372-373, 
378,  382-383,  393,  402,  426,  449,  541, 

563,  565,  577 
Gilbert,  W.  S.,  292 
"Gilded  Age,  The,"  179 
Gilman,  Mabelle,  601,  620 
"Girls  and  Boys,"  364 
"Gladiator,  The,"  445 
"Golden  Widow,  The,"  486 
"Good-natured  Man,  The,"  100   . 
Goodwin,  Nat  C,  237 
Gordon,  Jean,  361,  378,  382-383,  427 
"Gossip,"  623 

Gower,  Lord  Ronald,  403,  463 
Grain,  Corney,  280-281 
"Grandmamma,"  190 
Grattan,  H.  P.,  379-380 
"Great    Ruby,  The,"  625,   629,  635- 

637 
"Great  Unknown,  The,"  486,  497 
Green,  Anna  Katherine,  444,  624 
Green,  Nelson  G.,  642 
Gregory,  Eliot,  428 
Gresham,  Herbert,  541,  562,  564,  566, 

581,  602,  603,  606,  608,  632,  636 
"Griffith  Gaunt,"  71-74 
Grossmlth,  George,  402 
Grossmith,  Weedon,  399 
Grundy,  Sydney,  488 


H 


Hackett,  James  K.,  562,  565,  577,  585 

Hackett,  John  K.,  394 

Hackett,  Mrs.  John  K.,  362 

Hading,  Jane,  402,  455,  480 

Hall,  A.  Oakey,  53-55,  77,   102,   104, 

119, 158-159,  196,  198,  216,  329,  611, 

631 
"Hamlet,"  204,  225,  452,  504 
"Hanging  of  the  Crane,  The,"  177 
"Hansel  and  Gretel,"  586,  589,  598 
Hardenbergh,  Frank,  138, 155, 156,  158, 

159,  168,  169,  177,  178,  184,  203-204, 

213,  223,  226,  228,  362 
Hardy,  Thomas,  625 
Hare,  John,  424,  460 


666 


INDEX 


Harkins,  Daniel  H.,  83,  89,  92,  94,  95, 
96,  109,  no,  III,  138,  158,  159,  168, 
169,  177,  197,  204,  206,  223,  225-226, 

247,  443 
"Haroun  al  Raschid,"   see    "Arabian 

Night" 
Harrigan,  Edward,  469,  588 
Harrigan  and  Hart,  164 
Harris,  Sir  Augustus,  586,  598 
Harrison,  Gabriel,  501 
Harte,  Bret,    100,    119,    170-174,   217, 

23^-237,  362-363 
Haswell,    Percy,    533,    541,    582,    586, 

589,  603,  606,  608 
Hatton,  Joseph,  348,  551 
Hawthorne,  Julian,  444 
Hawtrey,  Charles,  402 
Hay,  John,  427,  565 
"Hazardous  Ground,"  82 
Hazeltine,  William,  603,  608,  616,  619, 

632 
"Heart  of  Midlothian,  The,"  181 
"Heart  of  Ruby,"  476,  580,  582 
"Heir  at  Law,"  loi 
"He  Knew  He  was  Right,"  109 
Heller,  Robert,  42,  229 
Henry,  Richard  M.,  642 
"Henry  IV,"  589,  626 
"Henry  Vni,"  617 
Herbert,   Sidney,   501,   502,   503,   562, 

564,  565,  581,  582,  603,  604,  606,  608, 

631,  632,  635,  636 
"Her  Lord  and  Master,"  207 
Hermann,  the  Magician,  42 
Heme,  James  A.,  578 
"Hero  and  Leander,"  476 
Heron,    Bijou    (Helena   Stoepel),    160, 

168,  187,  211,  238,  279,  348,  361,  384 
Heron,  Matilda,  69,  112,  160,  187-188, 

238 
"Her  Own  Enemy,"  363 
Hersee,  Rose,  124,  402 
Hibbard,  George  J.,  624 
"His  Excellency  the  Governor,"  622 
"His  Last  Legs,"  187 
Hodson,    Henrietta,    see   Mrs.    Henry 

Labouchere 
Holland,  George,  89,  93,  95,  97 
Holland,  Joseph,  427,  429,  449 


Hollingshead,  James  H.,  475 
Holmes,  O.  W.,  149-152 
"Honeymoon,  The,"  581,  582,  583 
"Horizon,"  106 
House,  E.  H.,  489 
Houssaye,  Arsene  and  Henri,  415 
Howard,  Blanche  Willis,  444,  611 
Howard,  Bronson,   102,   113,   133-134, 
148-149,  227,  242,  256,  327-328,  469, 

555 
Howard,  Joseph,  Jr.,  34,  102,  641 
Howe,  Henry,  528 
Howells,  W.  D.,  147-148,  231-233,  367, 

566 
Howson,  Emma,  124 
"Humpty  Dumpty  Abroad,"  139 
"Hunchback,  The,"  loi,  170,  187,  228, 

562,  564,  569,  570 
Hutton,  Lawrence,  343,  449,  456,  489, 

504 

I 

"Inconstant,  The,"  114,  482 
Ingersoll,  R.  G.,  442,  473 
"International  Match,  An,"  483 
Ireland,  Joseph  N.,  157-158,  469 
"Irish  Heiress,  The,"  96 
Irving,  Henry,  108,  264-265,  279-280, 
282,  291,  295,  304,  309-311,  367-368, 
371-372,  376,  402-404,  445,  459,  460, 
461,  464,  466,  492,  493,  526,  527,  528, 

530,  534-535.  567,  575.  578,  591,  602, 

604,  617,  635 
Irving,  Isabelle,  453,  503,  562 
Irwin,    May,    361-362,    372,    382-384, 

402-403,  443 

J 

James,  Henry,  551-554,  566 

James,  Louis,  no,  114,  115,  120,  156, 

158,    160,    168,   169,    177,   180,   182- 

183,  226,  312,  329,  632 
Janauschek,  Mme.,  107,  424,  450 
"Jarman's  Own,"  624 
Jarrett  and  Palmer,  41-42,  76,  186 
Jefferson,   Joseph,   38,   237,   244,   246, 

450,  451,  452,  453,  454,  455,   469, 

472,  483,  499,  641 
Jennings,  Clara,  89,  93,  95 


INDEX 


667 


"Jenny  Lind  at  Last,"  213 

Jepson,  E.,  533,  541,  565,  577,  586 

Jerome,  J.  K.,  444,  499,  549 

Jeune,  Lady,  460 

Jewett,  Sara,  114,  155,  156,  158,  159, 

168,  177,  178,  184,  194,  211 
"Jezebel,"  102 

"Joan  of  Arc,"  609,  626-627 
Joannes,  George,   the   Count,   39,  40, 

209-210,  326-327 
Johnson,  R.  U.,  627 
Johnstone,  Jack,  104 
Jones,  Avonia,  57-59,  63,  69,  209-210 
Jones,  George,  459-460 
Jones,  Melinda,  39,  69 
Jones,  Oliver  L.,  642 
Jordan,  George,  Jr.,  89,  95,  327 
Joyce,  Laura,  339,  346-347 
Juignet,  Paul,  42,  45-46 

K 

"Katherine  and  Petruchio,"  see  "Tam- 
ing of  the  Shrew" 

Kean,  Charles,  581 

Keeley,  Mary  Anne,  492,  528,  575 

Keene,  Laura,  37,  47,  56-57,  100,  215 

Kelcey,  Herbert,  452,  505 

Keller,  Hermann,  577,  592 

Kemble,  Charles,  321 

Kemble,  Fanny,  562,  564 

Kendal,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  167,  402,  424, 
455,  490,  528,  624 

Kidder,  Kathryn,  635 

"King  Carrot,"  123-124 

Kingdon,    Edith,    377-378,    394,    402, 

415-  422 
"King  Lear,"  204 
"King  Rene's  Daughter,"  95 
Kiralfys,  The,  42 
"Knave,  The,"  564 
Knight,  George  S.,  237 
Knowlton,  Dora,  321 


Labouchere,  Henry,  276,  277-278,  286, 

375,  491 
Labouchere,  Mrs.  Henry,  277,  286 
"Lady  of  Lyons,"  204,  226-227,  304 


"Lady  of  Lyons  Married  and  Settled," 

274 
Lane,  John  A.,  452 
Lang,  Andrew,  542 
Langtry,  Mrs.,  364,  402,  562,  623 

"Last  Word,  The,"  500,  526-527,  533, 
572,  614 

Lathrop,  G.  P.,  444,  476,  642 

Lauris,  The,  124 

"Leah  the  Forsaken,"  48-56,  206 

"Leah  the  Forsook,"  55 

"Leavenworth  Case,  The,"  624 

Leclercq,  Carlotta,  141,  184,  402 

Leclercq,  Charles,  138,  319,  325,  328, 
347,  349,  372,  393,  401-403,  410,  427, 
429,  449,  502,  503,  541,  581, 582, 587 

Leclercq,  Rose,  402 

Lee,  Sidney,  497 

"Lemons,"  224,  290-291,  292,  301 

Lemoyne,  W.  J.,  109,  1 10,  1 14,  347,  505 

"Lend  me  Five  Shillings,"  451 

"Lenore,"  326 

Lesoir,  George,  541 

Lewis,  Catherine,  195,  319-320,  325, 
335,  338,  566,  577,  620 

Lewis,  James,  89,  91-92,  93-95,  loi, 
102, 105, 109-110, 114-115,  120,  158- 
160,  169,  177,  178,  184-186,  197,  198, 
213, 222, 225-226,  237-238,  242,  321- 
322,  329,  338-339,  343,  349,  355-356, 
372-375,  378,  382-384,  393,  397,  400, 
402-403,  407,  410,  423,  427,  429,  430, 
446,  449,  456,  460,  469,  479,  480,  481, 
486,  488,  493,  501,  503,  550,  564,  565, 
571,  578,  581,  589,  598-599 

Lewis,  Jeffreys,  195,  197,  203-204,  212, 
229 

"Life,"  222 

"LiliTse,"  619 

Lingard,  Wm.  Horace,  41,  141,  187 

"Little  Miss  Million,"  562 

"Loan  of  a  Lover,  The,"  577 

Loftus,  Cecilia,  579 

Logan,  Celia,  79 

Logan,  Olive  (Mrs.  W.  W.  Sikes),  118, 

286,  290,  309,  3  1 1-3  1 2,  325 
"London  Assurance,"    102,    155,    184, 

186,  602-603 
Lotta,  41 


668 


INDEX 


"Lottery  of  Love,  The,"  479,  480,  482, 

519,  520 
"Love  Chase,  The,"  96 
"Love  in  Harness,"  425 
"Love  in  Tandem,"  534,  569,  570 
"Love  on  Crutches,"  377,  378,407,411, 

415,  418,  419,  422,  580,  591 
"Love's  Labour's  Lost,"  157-159,  503- 

504 
"Love's  Young  Dream,"  325 
Lucca,  Pauline,  138 

M 

"Macbeth,"  107 
McCarthy,  J.  H.,  444,  460,  482 
McCarthy,  J.  H.,  Jr.,  579,  580 
Mcintosh,  Nancy,  602,  603,  604,  606, 

608 
Mackay,  F.  F.,  13,  17 
McKay,  Neil,  603,  606 
Mackaye,  Steele,  145 
McKelway,  St.  Clair,  641 
Macready,  Wm.  C,  16,  17 
"Madame,"  592 
"Madame  Sans  Gene,"  622,  635 
"Madeleine  Morel,"  121 
"Mademoiselle  Pygmalion,"  586-587 
Maeder,  Clara  Fisher,  321,  489 
"Magistrate,  The,"  390-393,  606 
Majiltons,  The,  124 
"Man  and  Wife,"  100,  157,  184,  328 
"Mankind,"  353 
Mansfield,  Richard,  455,  544-550,  588, 

600,  623,  630 
Marble,  Emma,  575 
Maretzek,  Max,  45,  138,  473 
Markham,  Pauline,  42 
"Married  for  Money,"  103 
"Married  Life,"  115 
"Masks  and  Faces,"  180 
Mathews,  Charles,  29,  30,  102-105 
Matthews,  Brander,  388-389,  392,  396- 

397,  449,  456,  473,  480,  482,  539,  554 
May,  Mdlle.  Jeanne,  587 
Mayo,  Frank,  187,  452,  607 
"Measure  for  Measure,"  229 
"Meg  Merrilies,"  606 
Mellon,  Mrs.,  528 
Mendes,  Catulle,  464 


Menken,  Adah  Isaacs,  20,  43 
"Merchant  of  Venice,"  184,  204,  550, 

609,  629,  630,  63 1-634 
"Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,"  114,  393— 

397,  430,  617-618 
Methua,  J.  Guido,  63 
Methua-Scheller,  Mme.,  37,  38,  56 
"Midsummer    Night's    Dream,"    138, 

153,  446,  582,  583 
Miller,  Henry,  349,  361 
Mihvard,  Jessie,  489 

"Miss  Hoyden's  Husband,"  488 

Mitchell,  Maggie,  13,  41 

Modjeska,  Mme.,  247,  359,  452,  453, 

454,  474,  604 
"Money,"  221 

"Monsieur  Alphonse,"  149,  160,  184 
Montague,  H.  J.,  169,  186,  190 
Montez,  Lola,  20 
Moorcroft,  177-179 
Moore,  John,  204,  334,  349,  372,  393, 

427,  443,  449,  555,  564 
Morant,  Fanny,  100,  109,  114,  115,  120, 

154,  156,  165-166,  337,  449 
Morgan,  Appleton,  473,  592,  593 
Morin,  Mdlle.  Pilar,  577 

Morris,  Clara,  lOi,  102,  109,  no,  114, 

115, 120,  153-154,  167,  170,  188,  206, 

372,  384-385,  482 
Mortimer,  John  K.,  72,  76,  80,  106 
Mortimer,  Nellie,   107,  109,  115,  120, 

158,  184,  189 
Morton,  Charles,  185 
Morton,  Dorothy,  602 
Mosenthal,  S.  H.,  48,  49 
Moss,  Theodore,  455,  642 
"Mothers-in-Law,"  190 
"Mouse-trap,  The,"  566 
"Mrs.  Jasper,"  552-554 
"Much  Ado  about  Nothing,"  95,  603- 

606,  609 
Murdoch,  James  E.,  469,  472 


N 


"Nancy  and  Co.,"  397,  401-402,  407, 
411,  415,  422,  468,  490,  497,  534, 581 
Nast,  Thomas,  388 
"Needles  and  Pins,"  338 


INDEX 


669 


Neilson,  Adelaide,  121,  227-229,  303- 

304 
New  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre,  145,  248, 

SOS 
"New  Lamps  for  Old,"  499 
"New  Leah,  The,"  206 
"New  Magdalen,  The,"  141 
"Newport,"  325 

"New  Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts,"  96,  184 
"New  Year's  Eve,"  115,  121,  153,  155 
"Night  Off,  A,"  383-384,  400-401,  407, 

409,  41S,  422,  S19,  526,  ss6,  578 
"No  Name,"  105 
Norwood,  Roberta,  89,  no 
"Number  Nine,"  615,  616,  617 
"No.  20;  or  the  Bastile  of  Calvados," 

290 

O 

O'Connor,  T.  P.,  461 

"Octoroon,  The,"  272 

"Odette,"  348 

Offenbach,  211-212 

O'Gorman,  Richard,  490 

Oldfield,  Mrs.,  607 

"Old  Heads  and  Young  Hearts,"  121, 

iss>  505-506 

Olin,  S.  H.,  456,  471 

"Orient  Express,  The,"  572-573,  580 

"Othello,"  204,  416,  464 

"Our  American  Cousin,"  215-219 

"Our  Boys,"  190,  195-198,  207,  275, 

289 
"Our  Circle,"  190 
"Our  English  Friend,"  355 
"Our  First  Families,"  338 
Owen,  William,  616,  632,  635 
Owens,  John  E.,  41 


Page,  T.  N.,  544,  624-625 
"Palace  of  Truth,  The,"  184 
Palmer,  A.  M.,  106,  135,  171,  359,  365, 
397,  423,  449,  450,  451,  452,  453,  454, 
455,  456,  469,  470,  592,  600,  612 
"Pantomime  Rehearsal,  A,"  399 
Parkes,  George,  no,  166,  204,  318-319, 
325,  366,  382,  385,  394,  402,  427 


"Parricide,  The,"  156 

Parsloe,  Charles  T.,  76,  79,  236-237 

Partington,  Sallie,  82 

"Passing  Regiment,  The,"  348,  353 

Pastor,  Tony,  611 

"Patter  vs.  Clatter,"  103 

Paul,  Howard,  424 

Paulton,  Henry,  304,  402,  487 

"Peaceful  Valley,"  577 

Phillips,  Gus  (Oofty  Gooft),  312,  329- 

330 
"Pickwick  Papers,"  79,  80 
"Pinafore,"  275,  281,  295 
Pinero,  A.  W.,  390,  445,  533-534>  625 
"Pink  Dominoes,"  291-292 
"Pique,"  207-214,  296,  301-302,  308, 

363 
"Piqued,"  208 
Placide,  Thomas,  246 
"Play,"  93 
Players,  The,  456 
Plympton,  Eben,  228,  402,  452 
PoUe,  J.  B.,  93,  94,  95,  114 
Ponisi,  Mme.,  227,  436,  438,  453 
"Poor  Relation,  A,"  577 
"Popping  the  Question,"  482 
Porter,  Horace,  392-393,  597 
Potter,  Mrs.  James  Brown,  476,  506, 

584,  585-586,  591 
"Poupee,  La,"  620 
Power,  Nelly,  272 
Power,  Tyrone,  490,  533,  541,  581,  603, 

606,  608,  632 
"Prayer,  The,"  487,  519 
"Priceless  Paragon,  A,"  487 
Prince,  Adelaide,  486,  502,  503,  564, 

566 
"Princess  Royal,  The,"  227 
"Promise  of  May,  The,"  528 
"Provoked  Husband,  The,"  no 
Pryor,  Roger  A.,  641 
"Pygmalion  and  Galatea,"  184 
Pyne,  Louisa,  45 

Q 

"Queen  Mary,"  528 

"Queen's    Necklace,    The,"    585-586, 

592. 
"Quits,"  347 


670 


INDEX 


R 

"Railroad  of  Love,"  445,  460,  468,  504, 
519,  520,  580,  583 

Rankin,  McKee,  80 

"Raven's  Daughter,"  347 

Raymond,  John  T.,  190 

Reade,  Charles,  74,  288,  447 

"Recruiting  Officer,  The,"  381-383 

"Red  Scarf,  The,"  82 

Reed,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  German,  280-281 

Reeves,  Sims,  290 

Rehan,  Ada,  308,  317-318,  325,  327, 
335, 336, 338-339-  347,  348,  354,  3S6- 
357,  365-367,  372-373,  375,  378,  380, 
383-384,  394-395,  397-398,  400-403, 
404,  407,  409,  410,  420,  423,  424,  427, 
428,  429,  430,  445,  446,  449,  460,  465, 
466,  477,  479,  480,  481,  482,  484,  486, 
487,  490,  491,  492,  493,  494,  495,  496, 
497,  498,  500-501,  502,  503,  517-518, 
519,  523,  525,  526,  527,  528,  529,  531, 
532,  533,  534,  535,  536,  537,  538,  539, 
541,  544,  545,  549,  550,  553,  561,  562, 
563,  564,  566,  569,  570,  571,  572,  573, 
578,  579,  581,  584,  589,  590,  599,  602, 
603,  604,  606,  607,  608,  609,  613-614, 
616,  618,  619,  620,  622,  623,  626,  627, 
630,  631,  632,  634,  635,  636,  638 

Rehan,  Arthur,  587 

Reid,  Whitelaw,  527 

Rejane,  Mme.,  635 

"Return  of  Ulysses,  The,"  476 

Ricardo,  Miss,  637 

"Richard  II,"  204 

"Richard  III,"  550 

"Richelieu,"  204,  451,  474 

Richman,  Charles,  590-591,  602,  603, 
607,  608,  616,  617,  619,  630,  631,  634, 
635,  636 

Rigl,  Betty,  41,  166 

Rigl,  Emily,  41,  166,  168,  185,  186, 
204-205,  226,  228,  239,  337 

Rignold,  George,  186-187,  228,  229 

Ringgold,  B.  T.,  1 14,  115,  178,  184,  186, 
204 

Ristori,  52 

Ritchie,  Lady,  612 

"Road  to  Ruin,  The,"  114 


Robertson,  T.  W.,  460 

Robinson,  George  B.,  642 

Robson,  May,  362 

Robson,  Stuart,  43-44,  124,  234 

Roebuck,  Mabel,  632,  635,  636 

"Roger  la  Honte,"  489 

"Romance   of  a   Poor  Young  Man," 

435,  436,  437  _ 
"Romeo  and  Juliet,"  228,  591,  592 
Roosevelt,  Robert  B.,  102 
Rorke,  Kate,  402 
"Rose  Michel,"  215 
Rosenfeld,  Sydney,  589 
"Roughing  It,"  127 
"Round  the  Clock,"  124 
"Royal  Middy,  The,"  335,  578 
"Runaway  Girl,  The,"  623,  629 
Russell,  Hattie,  354 
Russell,  Lillian,  349 
Russell,  Phoebe,  443,  449,  474 
Russell,  Sol  Smith,  166,  229,  488,  577 
Rutter,  Grace,  603,  607,  620 
Ryner,  H.  C,  79,  89,  95 


Sabin,  Frank,  612 

St.  John,  Marie,  604,  619 

Salvini,  455,  476 

Sambourne,  Linley,  575 

Sampson,  Wm.,  503,  541,  582,  586,  603, 

606 
"Samson  and  Delilah,"  483 
"Sanya,"  82 

"Saratoga,"  102,  195,  291 
Sarcey,  F.,  419,  421,  464 
Sardou,  V.,  127,  245-246,  464,  465,  489, 

518,  520-526 
Sargent,  J.  S.,  613 
"Scarlet  Letter,"  544,  551 
Schoeffel,  John  B.,  642 
"School  for  Scandal,"    115,    177,  179, 

223,  246,  500-502,  519,  533,  564,  573, 

587,  603,  614,  619,  635 
Scott,  Clement,  542,  585,  611 
Scott,  Cyril,  616 
Scott,  Eric,  611 
Scott-Siddons,  Mrs.,  81,  94,  95,  396, 

555,602 


INDEX 


671 


"Second  Love,"  96 
Seidl,  Anton,  473,  586 
"Serge  Panine,"  357 
"Serious  Family,  The,"  212 
"Seth's  Brother's  Wife,"  531 
"Seven-Twenty-Eight,"  358,  364,  373, 

488,  490,  497,  578 
Shannon,  Effie,  443,  445,  474,  505 
"Shaughraun,  The,"  170,  176,  227 
Sheridan,  General,  192 
Sherman,  General,  336,  427,  431,  444, 

490,  504 
Sherman,  John,  427,  490 
Sherrington,  Mme.  Lemmens,  290 
"She  Stoops  to  Conquer,"  184 
"She  Would  and  She  Would  Not,"  95, 

356,  376,  407,  411 
Shook  and  Palmer,  iii,  154,  166,  170, 

215,  3S9 
"Shore  Acres,"  578 
Simpson,  Palgrave,  289 
Sitchell,  Dan,  56 
Skerrett,  Mrs.,  48,  76 
Skinner,  Otis,  372,  377-378,  382-384, 

400, 402-403,  410,  427,  429,  430,  445, 

446,  449,  460 
"Slave-Girl,  The,"  623,  630 
Smith,  Mack,  56 
Smith,  Sol,  56 
Sohlke,  Mdlle.,  222 
"Sorceress,  The,"  58 
Sothern,  E.  A.,  121,  218-221 
"Spell  of  the  Glen,  The,"  624 
"Sphynx,  The,"  167,  170 
"Squire,  The,"  354,  490 
Stephens,  Yorke,  354,  356 
Stetson,  John,  248,  363 
Stevens,   Edwin,   589,   591,   602,  603, 

606 
Stoepel,    Robert,    89,     160,    279-280, 

290 
"Stranger,  The,"  204,  472 
Studley,  J.  B.,  76,  79,  227-228 
"Subtleties  of  Jealousy,"  619 
"Sudden  Shower,  A,"  397 
Sullivan,  Sir  Arthur,  536-538,  571 
Sullivan,  John  A.,  642 
"Surf,"  96 
Sylvie,  May,  402,  427,  541,  586 


"Tales  of  the  Queen  of  Navarre,"  627 
Tamberlik,  138 
"Taming  a  Butterfly,"  55 
"Taming  of  the  Shrew,"  204,  426,  430, 

431.  443,  455,  461,  462,  463,  464,  468, 

483,  491,  494,  519,  53 1,  533,  548,  549, 

568,  570,  580,  614,  616,  617,  620,  635 
Taylor,  Douglas,  597-598,  611 
Tempest,  Marie,  402 
"Tempest,  The,"  607-608,  611 
Templeton,  Fay,  138,  187 
Tennyson,  Hallam,  Lord,  529,  530,  534, 

536-537,  539-541,  567,  572,  624 
Tennyson,    Lord,    528-530,    534-537, 

539-541,  561,  562,  571 
Terriss,  William,  372,  375,  402,  489,  617 
Terry,  Daniel,  606 
Terry,  Edmund,  444 
Terry,  Ellen,  304,  309,  31 1-3 12,  367, 

402-403,  424,  445,  459,  490,  492,  493, 

528,  534,  575,  604,  617 
Terry,  Florence,  309,  31 1-3 12 
Terry,  Marion,  309,  31 1-3 12 
"Tess  of  the  d'Urbervilles,"  625 
"Test  Case,  A,"  562 
Thackeray,  W.  M.,  612 
Thomas,  Brandon,  399 
Thomas,  Theodore,  45,  473 
Thompson,  Lydia,  42,  267 
Thorne,  Emily,  56,  327 
Thorpe,  Courtenay,  453 
Thorpe,  Laura,  321 
"Three    Daughters    of    M.    Dupont, 

The,"  615,  627 
"Tiote,"  336 
Tobin,  John,  581 
Toole,  J.  L.,  169,  424 
Towse,  J.  Ranken,  608,  642 
Tracy,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frank  {see  Agnes 

Ethel),  298 
"Tragedy  Rehearsed,  A"  (j^if  "Critic") 
"Transit  of  Leo,  The,"  587,  588 
Tree,  Beerbohm,  402 
Tree,  Ellen,  581,  607 
"Trip  to  Scarborough,  A,"  488 
Twain,  Mark,  127,  146-147,  232,  234- 

236,  367,  432,  456,  471,  477,  551 


672 


INDEX 


"Twelfth  Night,"  94,   loi,   228,  376, 
565,  573,  574,  575,  576,  579,  580,  589, 
614,  619 
"Two  Escutcheons,  The,"  589 
"Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona,"  580-581, 

582,  583,  584 
"Two  Men  of  Sandy  Bar,"  234 
"Two  Orphans,  The,"  170-171,  223 
"Two  Widows,  The,"  178 

U 

"Uncle  Sam,"  127-13 1 

"Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  277 

"Under  the  Gaslight,"  74-77,  139,  301, 

474-475 
"Used  up,"  103 

V 

Vanbrugh,  Violet,  569 

Varian,  Nina,  156,  158,  168,  178 

Varrey,  Edwin,  581,  602,  603,  608,  632 

Venne,  Lottie,  402 

"Vesta,"  229 

Vezin,  Herman,  402 

Voices,  Frederick,  139,  193-194 

Voices,  Rosina,  193-194,  399,  453,  483, 

488,  577 
"Voices,  The,"  193-194 

W 

Wallack,  Arthur,  391 

Wallack,  James  W.,  Jr.,  104 

Wallack,  Lester,  104,  135-136, 140-141, 
169,  176-177,  195-197,  24s,  309,  406, 
423,  427,  434,  435,  436,  437,  440,  449, 
450,  451,  452,453,454,455,456,476 

Walton,  Minnie,  141 

Ward,  Artemus,  42-43 

Ward,  Genevieve,  424,  528 

Watts,  Theodore,  535 

"Way  We  Live,  The,"  335 

Weathersby,  Eliza,  237 

Weber,  Lisa,  42 

Western,  Lucille,  14 

Weston,  Lizzie  (Mrs.  Charles 
Mathews),  103,  104 

"Wet  Blanket,  A,"  397 

"What  Should  She  Do.?",  167 

Wheatleigh,  Charles,  106,  482,  493,  503, 
541,  565,  581 


Wheatley,  William,  38,  184,  396 
Wheeler,  A.  C,  625 
WhifTen,  Mrs.  Thomas,  145,  384,  506 
White,  R.  G.,  157,  158 
White,  Stanford,  456 
Whittlesey,  White,  635,  636 
Widmer,  Henry,  372,  414,  587 
"Wife  of  Socrates,  The,"  482 
Wiggin,  Mrs.  K.  D.,  476 
Wilde,  Oscar,  531-532,  625-626 
Wilks,  E.  P.,  320,  325, 382,  385, 394,427 
Willems,  A'larie,  89,  96 
Williams,  Barney,  215 
Winter,  Jefferson,  632 
Winter,  William,   229,  372,   395,  426, 
449,  460,  469,  471,  472,  487,  517,  544, 

545,  584,  641 
Winter,  Mrs.  William,  lOi 
"Winter's  Tale,"  271 
"Wives,"  326-328 
"Wives  as  They  Were  and  Maids  as 

They  Are,"  96 
"Woman's  Won't,  A,"  407,  415,  418, 

419,421,  541 
"Women  of  the  Day,"  185 
"Wonder,  The,"  607 
Wood,  Frank,  55 
Wood,  Mrs.  John,  38,  55,  124,  213,  269- 

271,  275,  276-278,  283-284,  286,  291, 

293,  304,  402,  575 
"Wooden  Spoon,  A,"  377 
Worrell,  Jennie,  74,  78,  79, 475, 610-61 1 
Worrell  Sisters,  74,  78 
Worrell,  William,  74,  246 
Worth,  627-628 
Worthing,  Frank,  580,  581,  582,  588, 

589 
Wyndham,  Charles,  38,  269,  289,  291, 
402,  455,  562,  626 


Yeamans,  Jennie  and  Mrs.,  106 
"Yorick,"  181-184 
Young,  Brigham,  192 
"Youth  of  Louis  XIV,  The,"  347 


"Zanina,  or  the  Rover  of  Cambaye," 
339 


npHE  following  pages  contain  advertisements  of  a  few 
of  the  Macmillan  books  on  kindred  subjects. 


Essays  on  Modern  Dramatists 


By  WILLIAM   LYON   PHELPS 

Author  of"  Essays  on  Modern  Novelists,"  "  Essays  on  Russian  Novelists,"  etc. 

Cloth,  i2mo 

Readers  remember  with  pleasure  Professor  Phelps's  essays  on 
contemporary  novelists  and  will  welcome  this  new  volume  in  which 
he  writes  of  the  dramatists  with  equal  success.  There  are  separate 
essays  on  J.  M.  Barrie,  Bernard  Shaw,  John  Galsworthy,  Clyde 
Fitch,  Augustus  Thomas,  Edmond  Rostand,  Maurice  Maeterhnck, 
Brieux,  Bahr,  Schnitzler,  Hauptmann,  Sudermann,  and  others. 
A  survey  of  the  stage  in  Europe  and  America  to-day  is  also  given 
with  critical  comment  on  individual  masterpieces. 

Professor  Phelps  is  not  content  with  repeating  what  others  have 
said,  with  summarizing  the  conclusions  of  others,  though  of  course 
he  does  not  ignore  the  various  authorities.  He  seeks,  however,  to 
discover  some  truth  which  has  been  overlooked.  It  is  this  new 
note  that  one  will  always  find  sounded  in  his  writings  that  is  ac- 
countable for  a  part  of  their  importance.  But  equally  important 
is  the  manner  in  which  that  truth  is  expressed  once  it  has  been 
found.  Professor  Phelps  does  not  write  in  that  labored  fashion 
characteristic  of  many  of  his  fellow  critics.  He  eschews  ponderous- 
ness  and  all  pompous  show  of  erudition  and  presents  his  facts 
simply  and  effectively,  brightening  his  pages  with  humor  now  and 
then. 

"  Professor  Phelps's  method  of  treatment  is  gentle,  kindly,  but 
shrewdly  penetrative,  so  that  the  reader  will  find  himself  in  sym- 
pathy with  his  judgments."  —  Indepetident. 

"Professor  Phelps  is  certainly  a  master  in  the  art  of  saying  much 
in  little.  In  a  few  pages,  with  clear,  concise  sentences,  an  epigram 
here,  a  sly  suggestion  there,  a  personality  is  limned  for  you  within 
thumb-nail  limits.  .  ,  ."  —  The  Bellman. 


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The  Life  of  Algernon  C.  Swinburne 

By  EDMUND  GOSSE 

Cloth,  illustrated,  $j.^o 

The  Life  of  Swinburne  upon  which  Mr.  Gosse  has  been  engaged 
for  the  last  six  or  seven  years  is  now  pubhshed  and  is  a  noteworthy 
contribution  to  Uterary  history.  This  is  the  first  and  the  official 
biography  of  the  poet  and  no  one  is  better  fitted  than  is  Mr.  Gosse 
to  add  to  the  scholarly  work  of  the  biographer  the  genuine  interest 
and  appreciation  of  the  friend. 

"Intimate  personal  acquaintance  with  Swinburne,  extending 
through  many  years,  and  with  many  of  Swinburne's  relatives  and 
friends,  his  close  relationships  with  the  literary  and  artistic  circles 
in  London  in  which  Swinburne  was  an  important  figure,  his  long 
training  in  critical  appreciation,  his  balanced  judgment  and  his 
good  taste  all  combine  to  make  him  the  appropriate  Swinburne 
biographer.  ,  .  .  One  of  the  most  interesting  volumes  of  biog- 
raphy to  come  from  the  presses  in  a  long  time.  It  is  full  of  well- 
chosen  reminiscence  and  anecdote  at  once  vital  and  discreet,  affords 
a  picture  of  the  development,  the  character,  the  life  of  the  poet  that 
has  life  and  color  and  gives  to  the  reader  an  intimate  sense  of  per- 
sonal knowledge,  and  it  contains  also  much  valuable  critical  esti- 
mate of  Swinburne's  work."  —  New  York  Times. 

"Is  marked  by  critical  appreciation,  fine  discrimination  in  the 
selection  of  material  and  a  clarity  and  buoyancy  of  style  which  lift 
it  into  the  realm  of  enduring  hterature."  —  San  Francisco  Bulletin. 

"  Removes  the  veil  and  gives  an  intimate  narrative  of  the  life,  and 
a  sympathetic  and  appreciative  study  of  the  work,  of  his  gifted  but 
eccentric  friend.  .  .  .  Swinburne  also  is  fortunate  in  having  a 
biographer  so  informed,  so  conscientious,  so  appreciative,  so  re- 
strained and  of  such  understanding.  This  book  is  thus  far  quite 
the  most  interesting  biography  of  the  year."  —  The  Bellman. 

"A  book  so  full  of  good  things,  it  is  not  easy  to  select  the  best 
or  the  most  representative."  —  San  Francisco  Chronicle. 


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Granny  Maumee  :  The  Rider  of  Dreams  :  Simon 
the  Cyrenean 

Plays  for  a  Negro  Theatre 
By  RIDGELY  TORRENCE 

Boards,  Svo 

Mr.  Torrence  has  caught  the  real  spirit  of  negro  life  and  imprisoned 
it  in  these  plays.  Presented  successfully  in  New  York  City  in  the  spring 
of  this  year  by  a  company  of  negro  players,  they  were  seen  to  be  both 
dramatic  in  situation,  true  in  character  and  appealing  as  to  theme. 
The  success  which  they  enjoyed  in  production  is  sure  to  be  duplicated  in 
their  printed  form ;  in  fact  it  may  be  that  their  certain  literary  values 
and  their  interpretation  of  the  philosophy  of  a  remarkable  people,  are 
even  more  clearly  revealed  than  they  were  behind  the  footlights. 

The  Cycle  of  Spring  :  A  Play 

By  RABINDRANATH  TAGORE 

Cloth,  i2ino,  $i.2j ;  leather,  $1.75 

This,  the  latest  and  richest  of  the  author's  plays,  was  recently  per- 
formed in  the  courtyard  of  his  Calcutta  home  by  the  masters  and  boys 
of  Shantiniketan.  The  success  was  immense :  and  naturally,  for  the 
spirit  of  the  play  is  the  spirit  of  universal  youth,  filled  with  laughter  and 
lyric  fervour,  jest  and  pathos  and  resurgence :  immortal  youth  whose 
every  death  is  a  rebirth,  every  winter  an  enfolded  spring. 

"All  the  joy,  the  buoyancy,  the  resilience,  the  indomitable  and  irre- 
pressible hopefulness  of  Youth  are  compacted  in  the  lines  of  the  play. 
The  keynote  is  sounded,  with  subtle  symbolism,  in  the  Prelude,  in  which 
the  King  ranks  above  all  matters  of  State  or  of  Humanity  the  circum- 
stances that  two  gray  hairs  had  made  their  appearance  behind  the  ear 
that  morning.  .  .  .  Dramatic  power,  philosophy,  and  lyric  charm  are 
brilliantly  blended  in  a  work  of  art  that  has  the  freshness  and  the  promise 
of  its  theme."  —  Nezv  York  Trihxine. 


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Aspects  of  Modern  Drama 


By  frank  WADLEIGH   CHANDLER 

Professor  of  Comparative  Literature  and  Dean  of  the  College  of  Liberal  Arts  in 
the  University  of  Cincinnati.  Author  of  "  Romances  of  Roguery "  and  "  The 
Literature  of  Roguery." 

8vo,  $2.00 


A  study  of  the  best  plays  of  the  leading  dramatists  of  the  past 
quarter  century.  In  this  discussion  of  a  literary  topic  of  the  hour, 
certain  themes,  artistic  kinds,  and  ideas  are  considered,  rather  than 
the  work  of  individuals,  man  by  man.  Specifically,  the  book 
illustrates,  through  the  works  of  those  of  different  race,  the  dra- 
matic treatment  of  such  characters  as  the  wayward  woman  and 
the  priestly  hero ;  of  such  motifs  as  the  tyranny  of  love,  the  in- 
fluence of  heredity  and  environment,  and  the  ideal  of  honor;  of 
such  situations  as  are  commonly  involved  in  plays  presenting  scenes 
from  married  hfe ;  of  such  a  plot  as  the  eternal  triangle ;  of  such 
social  problems  as  those  of  sex,  divorce,  racial  antagonisms,  and  the 
relations  of  the  rich  and  the  poor;  and  of  such  artistic  varieties 
as  the  naturalistic,  the  romantic,  the  symbolic,  and  the  poetic 
drama.  In  two  chapters  concerned  with  the  Irish  plays,  a  national 
movement  is  described;  and  in  most  of  the  others  appears  inci- 
dentally some  indication  of  the  national,  as  well  as  the  personal, 
peculiarities  of  writers,  Spanish,  Italian,  French,  German,  Scandi- 
navian, Russian  or  English.  Owing  to  the  novelty  of  its  plan  and 
the  wealth  of  its  material,  it  should  prove  of  value  both  to  the 
college  student  and  to  the  ordinary  reader  and  playgoer.  The 
text  contains  analysis  of  some  two  hundred  and  eighty  representa- 
tive plays. 


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"  ■■'■ ;"'  i'tiijj 


